


Against All Odds

by anelks_fantasy, geminitzy



Category: ITZY (Band), K-pop, NCT (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Orchestra, Coming of Age, F/M, Fanfiction, High School, Mixed Martial Arts, Music, Orchestra, Original Character(s), RPF, Reader-Insert, Teen Romance, choir
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-07-07
Updated: 2020-07-23
Packaged: 2021-03-05 04:53:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 13
Words: 34,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25118683
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/anelks_fantasy/pseuds/anelks_fantasy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/geminitzy/pseuds/geminitzy
Summary: Live through the dream high school experience of a Kpop fan that has somehow come into existence... against all odds. With help from the members of ITZY as well as Mark Lee and Johnny Suh of NCT, your school life has no shortage of twists and turns, especially when you find yourself falling in love with the beautiful tennis player and your childhood friend of 8 years, Lee Chaeryeong.
Relationships: Lee Chaeryeong/Male Reader, Lee Chaeryeong/Reader, Lee Chaeryeong/You, Mark Lee (NCT)/Original Female Character(s), Mark Lee/Suh Youngho | Johnny, Shin Yuna/Original Male Character(s), Suh Youngho | Johnny/Choi Jisu | Lia
Kudos: 3





	1. A New Beginning

"Damn, I didn't know you had that in you!" exclaims your best friend Justin Nguyen, who, is ogling at your Facebook profile picture befitting the product of a professional photo shoot. 

A crowd of your middle school friends huddles around, marveling at the stunning candid shot that took everyone's Facebook feed by storm the night before. You yourself admire your dad's handiwork upon your umpteenth examination: the radiant afternoon sunlight reflecting off the pastel blue swimming pool overlooking the hills, and your shirtless figure taking in the scenery, your sharp side profile teasing a smile. To top off the vibe, the shot catches a Coke can nestled in your right hand. 

"Yeah, I guess I was just feeling it in that moment," you chuckle. This picture with such a textbook "not a care in the world" feeling was a complete paradox to the million thoughts running through your mind in that moment. The mere idea of transitioning from middle to high school itself took you the whole summer to fully process, and now that it was finally here, your nerves have gotten the best of you. 

"I'm so nervous. I still can't believe we're already in high school," says one of the boys, echoing your thoughts. 

Not long after, a bell rings to signal the official start of the school day. You trudge through the uncharted territory that was this oddly scented English hallway and find your first period classroom, surreptitiously taking a seat. Soon after, your English teacher, a short blonde woman with angular features, enters the room and introduces herself. 

"I know today is a big day for you... and no, there is no official lesson planned for today," she begins, quite contrary to your expectations. She continues with surprisingly reassuring rhetoric and inspirational Youtube videos that do quite well to calm you down. Bidding your new classmates farewell, you feel a newfound burst of confidence to take on the rest of your first day. 

Your second period passes with a blur and already you arrive at your third period Honors biology class. Already feeling the urge to go home and boot up your favorite video game, you opt to seat yourself in the back of the classroom for a chance to be left alone with your own thoughts. Suddenly, a female voice calls out to you.

"Y/N! Over here!" It's Chaeryeong Lee, your childhood friend of 8 years, donning a black, long-sleeved top tucked into a pair of high rise blue jeans, beckons to you from a lab table on the right side of the room, tiptoeing and bunny hopping as she's doing so. 

Chaeryeong gives you a hug as you join her side, and the two of you exchange stories of your activities over the past summer. Soon enough, your infamous profile picture comes up again mid-conversation. The thought of Chaeryeong seeing you shirtless makes you blush a bright tomato red, causing Chaeryeong to laugh so hard that she has to grip the lab table to save herself from falling over. Just then, a girl with short, pink hair materializes behind your friend. Flashing a smile that exposes a pair of whisker dimples in anticipation, she proceeds to give Chaeryeong a backhug, who snaps out of her fit of giggles in surprise.

"Ryujin!" exclaim you and Chaeryeong simultaneously in greeting. 

"Wait, you know each other? Wha-" Chaeryeong struggles to find her words as she momentarily switches to Korean to converse with Ryujin.

That's right, you think to yourself. Somehow, you managed to leave out the fact that you recently started mixed martial arts training. That was where you met Ryujin Shin, and Yeji Hwang. 

"This is a training partner from the MMA gym I talked about in Art," explains Ryujin. "He goes by Y/N, but I call him 0 and 2." 

At Ryujin's cheeky comment Chaeryeong almost doubles over in laughter, to which you defend, "Tch, in the past week, sure. But for the record, we're still-"

"39-39-1, but I totally would have you beat if I hadn't forgotten about the 12-6 elbow," finishes Ryujin with a hint of exasperation.

"What other classes do we have together?" you ask, curious to the other ways fate had arranged this unexpected trio to cross paths. Other than biology, the three of you did not share any other classes, though you did have orchestra and history with Ryujin. 

The flow of high school routine seemed to finally set in as the rest of the day went by without much trouble, and soon it was the last period of the day. As Chaeryeong promptly bids you and Ryujin farewell and heads to tennis practice, the two of you head off to room C113, the music classroom. You couldn't help but marvel at the school spirit aesthetic of this room, with framed pictures of every class lined up along the back wall in front of a large tapestry emblazoned with the iconic Michael Kauffman High School emblem. Turning around to see the seating chart displayed on the projector, you bring yourself back to reality and proceed to find your seat. Passing Yeji en route, you exchange a brief greeting with her before finding your older sister. It doesn't take long to do so as you hear her familiar laugh, and where your seat is sits a friendly looking, lanky boy with black hair and a lopsided smile, as well as sparkling eyes that are currently tearing up from laughter. 

Right as you are about to banish him from your seat, the boy notices your presence and, upon trading glances between you and your sibling, turns toward the latter and asks, "Yo, is this your brother? He kind of looks like you!" 

Mid-chuckle, he earns a firm smack on the shoulder from your sister: "Are you kidding me? We don't look alike at all," she says in protest.

"OW!" 

You decide to break the commotion and cut in: "Are you Mark Lee by any chance? Edea's told me a lot about you." 

"What?! What does she say?" asks an intrigued Mark. 

Before you can respond, a booming voice silences the class and shepherds the stragglers back to their assigned seats. 

"MARK IF YOU DON'T GO TO YOUR SEAT I'M MARKING YOU ABSENT!" a tall man in his late twenties shouts, leading the boy to sheepishly smile at you in farewell before compliantly returning to his seat. 

"For those who don't know me, my name is Mr. Li, and I am the orchestra and band director. I've done a lot of thinking over the summer, and I feel like to be better musicians, we need to hone in on the fundamentals. That is why this year, I want to try something new. If by any chance, you've heard of solfege, could you tell me what it is?" 

The director's words were met with a few seconds of dead silence before he gets an answer: "Isn't it like, the thing you do when you sing? The do-re-mi-fa-so?" replies a boy from the opposite side of the room. 

"Thank you, Johnny, I'd expect no less from a former choirboy, but that's not completely it. Does someone else want to add on to that?" 

"Going back to what you said about fundamentals, doesn't solfege boost sight-singing skills, which fine tune a musician's perception of pitch in the long run?" astutely answers Ryujin. 

"That's correct. Now what I'm going to have you do is break out into your sections and introduce yourselves. Once you've gotten familiar, you can go ahead and get started on these worksheets to get your foot in the door for what will come later this year."

Right away you see some familiar faces. After a nod of heads with Justin Nguyen, you are joined by two short, dark-haired girls, a tall blonde, a Hispanic boy with swept brown hair, a short boy with a buzzcut, and the one and only Mark Lee, whose eyes widen upon recognizing you: "Yo, Edea's brother! You're in this section? Great to see you, man! Welcome to the winds section~"

The Hispanic boy beams at your conversation and cracks a smile. "Glad that we're already getting to know each other! Why don't I start with the introductions and we'll go around the circle, shall we? My name is Cass Redwood, I'm a senior and your section leader, and I play the clarinet. I'm also this section's veteran since I've been unfortunate enough to survive Mark's onslaught of farts for three straight musical seasons."

The girl sitting to Cass's left is rescued from the burden of taking the next introduction as Mark immediately interjects from the right: "Dude, don't tell them that! You're ruining my reputation and I haven't even introduced myself!"

The section erupts into obnoxious guffaws, getting the rest of the orchestra to turn in our direction wondering what the heck just happened. Embarrassed at having the sudden spotlight being thrown at him, Mark awkwardly rubs the back of his head and says, "Um, anyways, my name is Mark, and I'm a junior. What Cass said is definitely not true, and I play the flute. And yeah, I'm excited to get to know you guys!"

At Mr. Li's command, we wrap up our intros and begin the painstaking worksheet session. After what seemed like years, the section finally finishes, courtesy of Mark in part, who, well aware that your sister was an ace at music theory, runs over to her section to sneak peeks at the answers and diligently reports them back to us. At long last, the day is finally over.

The moment you and Edea cross the threshold of your front door, your sister retreats to her room while you boot up your Playstation to get some Call of Duty games with Justin before starting homework. 

"Man, what a day," you say as you stare at the reflection behind the loading screen. "How were classes for you?"

"I'm just glad we didn't actually have to learn anything today," Justin replies with a deep sigh. "We have the same biology teacher, right? I think I'm in the period after yours. You wanna hear the kicker though? Do you know Yuna Shin, Ryujin's cousin?"

"Wow, I didn't know Ryujin had a cousin."

"Yeah well, she's cute. And I mean mad cute. We're also both in band, crazy right?"

"Ooooh, interesting. What does she play?"

"She plays percussion, like your sister. But I gotta say, she makes all the seniors in her sections look like amateurs."

You chuckle at that last remark; it's reminiscent of how your sister's skills stacked up in orchestra when she was a freshman herself.

"I think out of everything today," you continue, "I got the best vibes from orchestra. I definitely feel like with how diverse everyone was, we're gonna make some really good memories." 

"Yeah! Did you hear how loud our section got watching Mark and Cass banter? That was bonkers. I feel like we'd already clicked."

"Oh shoot! We're in! Where are we dropping?" 

Justin brings your attention back to the game once it had finished loading. With snacks, fruit, and a refreshing cup of boba milk tea laid out in front of you on the coffee table, the two of you take the rest of the afternoon to unwind and celebrate surviving your very first day of high school. 

...

Night has fallen. You have finished all your homework and chores for the day and had finished washing up before collapsing on your bed. You think about how things went exceptionally well today; it seemed as if you and Justin were winning game after game. You think about how productive you were today at the gym; your workout barely made you break a sweat, and sparring went even better. You realized how much better your Jiu Jitsu has gotten, and you had even bounced back with some wins against Ryujin, the gym's ace. You remember how she had teased you earlier today, which made the victories that much more satisfying.

You grab your phone off your nightstand to browse social media and TikTok, but eventually put it down, thinking better of it. Your mind once again entertains ever so lofty thoughts about the future, how truly monumental it is that a new chapter of your life has begun. Remembering how challenging it was to make friends in elementary and middle school, you find solace in having broken out of your comfort zone today. You let yourself worry a little bit about the heavy high-school course load that was soon to come, but you know that, like all the other times, you'll make it work through sheer willpower and a little bit of luck. You begin to bestow silent messages of gratitude to the people who've had your back since Day 1 before your consciousness cannot hold any longer and you fall asleep. You were going to kick high school's ass.


	2. Do (Re-Mi) and Don'ts

"Y/N, are you okay? I thought you were good at Math!" says Yeji, looking over your shoulder in between giggles.

Staring back at you was a big, red circled 4/10, sitting on the top right corner of your very first math quiz. You offer a silent apology to the mentors who'd led you to victory in multiple math competitions in your elementary school days as you slowly meet Yeji's eyes, whose expression softens.

"In all honesty, half of these questions aren't fair to have on the very first quiz," Yeji comments, brushing her chestnut brown hair behind her ears. "Let's study together and bounce back the next time!" she finishes, tilting her head slightly askew, flashing her signature eye-smile.

You take a moment to appreciate your friend's knack at cheering anyone up no matter the situation, and with Yeji's comforting words, the two of you set out to lunch. Approaching your usual rendezvous, in the form of a table tucked away from the open courtyard, Justin and Chaeryeong break conversation to greet the two of you.

Taking a seat with a tray of the day's cafeteria offering, you mutter to yourself, "I really should start bringing food from home," picking at a piece of orange chicken with a plastic spork.

"How's solfege going? Ryujin's been telling me it's one heck of a chore," Chaeryeong inquires, sliding you her thermos filled with Jjajangmyeon, which you accept. From the corner of your eye you spot Yeji's cat-like eyes widen to their peaks as she produces her notes and hastily starts practicing. A week has passed since Mr. Li introduced solfege, and today was the day of your first proficiency test. Echoing Ryujin's sentiment, you frankly didn't see any tangible benefit from the exercises, as your perfect pitch gave you a competitive advantage against the rest of the class. This proficiency, as well as everything that would come after, would be a cake walk.

"It's so dumb," you say with no sugarcoat. "I literally feel like I've forgotten how to play the tuba when all we've done this year is sing. Last time I checked, I didn't audition for choir."

Just then, the lunch table sees two more visitors in the form of Ryujin, in addition to a tall, slender blonde girl wearing a white crop top and a pair of sky blue jean shorts, whom you don't recognize. Nevertheless, you get an idea of who she is, judging from the pace at which Justin's face turned a bright shade of red.

"What's up yall? I'm Yuna Shin!" says the girl, confirming your suspicions.

With that introduction, you can definitely see the resemblance to her cousin. Most prominently, the charismatic, chic aura they carried themselves with, as well as the mischief in their charming smiles. Spotting the drum major mace in her right hand, you are the first to speak up in response:

"Yo, are you trying out for assistant drum major by any chance?"

"Yeah, what about it?"

"Nothing, it's just super cool! Are the current drum majors already hosting training sessions?"

Yuna smiles and places the mace on the ground vertically before resting her forearms and chin on it. "Not yet, but I'm preparing early so I know for sure that I'll beat everyone else come tryout season," she finishes, tongue sticking out to the side.

"I don't know, Yuna, George Xi seems like he'd put up a good fight with everything he's got going for him," comments Justin.

You remember George from meeting your section the day before: he was the shorter boy with a buzzcut; a junior like Mark and your sister, well-known on campus for his outstanding academic performance. While many thought he was cocky, he had the stuff to back it up. He was president of many clubs, and had big dreams to attend an Ivy League school post-graduation. His influence could be felt in orchestra and band, too, as he was well respected for his saxophone skills. Still, Yuna's charisma had earned her immense popularity in just a week's time and a promising shot at the title.

"Let's be honest, how is he going to win when yall can barely see the guy? He's what, a whole 5 foot 3 inches tall?" says Ryujin, causing everyone to burst into laughter.

It was no surprise to anyone that Yuna towered over most students on campus, but compared to George, she was a giant. Before anyone could add to that thought, the bell ends the lunch period and you and your friends part ways. As was the case on most days, it takes you every ounce of willpower to stay awake during your next two classes, and you find yourself on the brink of collapse by the time orchestra rolls around. That was, until a familiar voice shakes you out of your stupor.

"Y/N!"

You turn around to face Julia Choi, your next door neighbor. She was a year above you, but the two of you have had plenty of time to get close from all the time she spent at your house hanging out with your sister Edea.

"I was just looking for you. Do you want Starbucks? We had an extra cup lying around, and you've probably had a long day. Take it as my good luck gift to you before your test!" Julia finishes with a warm smile.

"Aw, I really appreciate that, Lia. I needed this. How's the new choir crowd looking?"

"It's good! I see a lot of potential in the newbies, though I can't help but miss the oldies. It'll take me some time to get used to the new vibe." Lia replies plaintively, taking a second to straighten her white blouse.

"Hey, Johnny!"

You and Lia greet the tall boy in passing, Johnny Suh, who returns the formalities.

"Lia, I'm so freaking nervous. Do you have any last-minute pointers on how I can ace this thing?" says Johnny with a worried look on his face.

"Your starting note. Pay extra attention when you're given the starting note," concisely answers Lia. "Besides, you were in choir for two years, you got this!"

As the start of class draws nearer, you thank Lia once again for the coffee and walk into the music room alongside Johnny, who seems to have gotten his nerves under control. There is no time for conversation today as everybody in the room is buried nose deep in their notes, trying their best to squeeze out every drop of time to prepare. The next twenty or so minutes are a blur until you finally regain your senses upon stepping out of the practice room, relieved knowing that you had done the best you possibly could have. You join in on Mark and Edea's conversation, when, not long after, out walks a dejected looking Johnny.

"How did it go?" asks Edea.

"The starting note. I can't believe I messed up the starting note, even after I was warned!"

From your right, a shrill laugh breaks out that rang out across the entire room.

"Bro, how do you mess up the starting note? You're joking, right?" Mark responds, still caught up in bits of laughter.

"I don't know man, today is just not my day," says Johnny.

"Okay, but how did you sing it though? Like this?" teases Mark, who then proceeds to sing a comically flat C major scale.

"Why do you always have to bring me down?" Johnny replies, not impressed at all by Mark's humor.

"I don't ALWAYS bring you down!" defends Mark.

"You. Always. Bring. Me. Down." retorts Johnny with finality, who storms out of the music room.

You, Mark, and Edea are left speechless as you comprehend the events that had just transpired.

"Damn, I didn't think he would take it so personally," says Edea.

"It's no wonder that loser got kicked out of choir," chimes in a voice. It's Joe Woo, a percussionist who Mr. Li had taken a liking to because of his enthusiasm for his new curriculum. He was what people would call a "kiss ass" student.

"You're not helping. At least Johnny didn't have to beg his way into the orchestra," Edea snaps back.

Joe clams up at his section leader's scathing words, and out of the corner of your eye, you spot Mark leaving the room to catch up with Johnny. Flustered, you follow suit and step outside the building for some fresh air. Relishing the sensation of the cool autumn breeze on your face, you look up at the blue sky contrasting the aggressive shades of red and maroon of the campus buildings and let out a sigh of disapproval. You had always thought your school's representative colors were ugly. Recalling the conversation with Lia, you reflect on how much this setback probably means for Johnny, who, as a former choir member, considers vocals an integral part of his identity. It reminds you of yourself, and you think back to the day of your orchestra audition.

***

_It was a sunny Wednesday afternoon, and the adrenaline pulsing through your veins was palpable as you trudged towards C113 for the first time ever as a middle schooler, loaner trumpet in hand. You felt your grip on the carrying case tighten as you approached your destination, your knuckles gradually getting whiter and whiter. The past two years spent in concert band were unforgettable, having met a network of the most cheerful and supportive musicians. It would be an understatement to say that it was a heartache to say goodbye as you all inevitably went your separate ways to different high schools. Still, something about this made you feel more nervous than your average pre-audition jitters._

_"Hi! Are you here for orchestra auditions?" asks a tall, peppy female with rectangular specs and a ponytail._

_"Yeah, I am. Is there anywhere I can go to warm up for a bit?"_

_"Sure! Please follow me."_

_"Um, by any chance, could you tell me a bit about what it's like to be in orchestra?" you ask sheepishly._

_"I'm not exaggerating when I say this, but even as a senior, joining orchestra was the best decision I've ever made in my high school career. You don't join an ensemble as much as you're joining a family. I guarantee you that you'll feel it as soon as your first day. It's like just from feeling the energy in the room and meeting a couple people, something clicks and you know you're going to have an amazing 4 years."_

_You can't help but smile from ear to ear. If you weren't sold already, you definitely were now that you knew that you would be in good hands._

_"Y/N? You're up next!"_

_..._

_The emotions you felt walking out of your audition made it seem like you were walking out of an alternate universe. Where there used to be a bright optimism about the future lay a nasty cocktail of fear, anxiety, and insecurity. The scales and rhythms you were asked to play during the audition were things you had never encountered before, which made you lose all your cool and whiff on even the easier phrases. As you took a seat on the hallway floor, feeling beads of sweat running down your forehead, you try to reassure yourself with the fact that you, quite frankly, did not play terribly, but you were almost sure that it was not enough to score an acceptance. You are left with no shortage of negative thoughts overwhelming your psyche, when the assistant director emerges from the music classroom and kneels in front of your seated position._

_"Would you be willing to join the orchestra as a tuba player? I see potential in you. The trumpet might not be the best suited for you, with how much trouble you seemed to have to hit the higher notes. How about it?"_

***

With that proposition, you landed the orchestra gig by a hair. However, at times, you couldn't help but succumb to the voice in your head telling you that you weren't good enough, that you were only allowed to join orchestra out of pity. Musicianship has been a part of your life forever, and to have, in your eyes, failed a test so significant on one of your biggest livelihoods crushed your spirits. Thinking back to Joe's insensitive words, you were now even angrier on Johnny's behalf.

Just then, a pair of toned legs crosses your field of view and someone sits down to your left.

"Something bothering you, Y/N?"

It's Chaeryeong.

"Did practice end early?" you ask.

Chaeryeong nods in confirmation. The girl eyeing you with concern was still decked out in athletic gear: a maroon tank top that exposed her muscular arms with a matching pair of maroon athletic shorts befitting our school's colors, her wavy brown hair tied back in a ponytail, and her neon green tennis racket, which she idly twirled around in her small, delicate hands. You couldn't help but notice how pretty she was in this look: her gear showed off more of her fit body than usual, which complements her soft and baby-like features exceptionally well.

"And I'm all right, just stepped outside for some fresh air," you lie.

Quite appropriate for someone who's known you for eight years, Chaeryeong angles herself to get a closer look at you, giving you a scowl. Bracing for your friend to call your bluff, "Why is your face so red?" is the response you get instead.

"Ah, still? I guess I'll need to sit out here for a little longer to cool down," you chuckle.

"Good choice. Make sure to drink lots of water!" adds Chaeryeong in her classic motherly fashion.

Normally you were a terrible liar, at least bad enough for Chaeryeong to catch you nine out of ten times, but it seems as you were too caught off guard by Chaeryeong's visuals to worry about covering up a lie this time around.

"Oh? My ride is here! Hey, let's talk later!" says Chaeryeong, saving you from any more opportunities to say something stupid.

Still flustered, you have nothing else to offer but a smile, and you watch her run off, her ponytail swaying to and fro in the distance.

"Yeah. Let's talk, I'd love that." you finally say, doing so almost purposely to whatever omniscient third party was watching over you.


	3. Getaway

"WOOOO! 얼쑤 좋다~" yelps Ryujin.

None of you can believe your ears as Mr. Li drops the bomb of an announcement: the instrumental music students were going on a field trip. After seizing a copy of the itenerary, everyone giddily dashes over to their friends and wastes no time planning out fun things to do as a group in great detail. You, too, found yourself in a huddle with your usual crowd. 

"Going to Big Bear probably wouldn't get the average person this hyped, but deadass nobody in this room has seen snow even once in their lives," comments Yuna. 

"Right? I expect no shortage of epic snowball fights highlighting our end-of-the-year banquet slideshow," you add, feeling mounting excitement by the minute.

"Given the rivalry between orchestra and band kids, I expect our feud to be put to rest once and for all," laughs Justin. "It's gonna be intense."

"Yaaaaa," squeals Yeji in joy, "what's even better is Chaeryeongie's gonna join us because her mom is chaperoning~"

"Wow..." says Ryujin in a blissful tone, "I feel like I haven't rested in ages; I can't wait to spend Thanksgiving break away without worrying about school for once." 

"Now, boys and girls," begins Mr. Li once the volume has died down, "it's important to remember that every choice you make on this trip, you make three times. Once for yourself, a second time for your orchestra family, and a third time in the name of Michael Kauffman High School. Everything I expect from you is already on the itinerary along with the final list of roommate assignments, but I want to highlight a few things that have proven problematic in the past."

"Firstly," he continued, addressing the increasing number of curious expressions, "no alcohol, cigarettes, or drugs. Absolutely no exceptions. Second of all, boys are not allowed on the girls' floor, and vice versa. I don't care if you are a couple. Zero tolerance. I'm not having any of it. That also goes if you're trying to see someone outside of orchestra or band," Mr. Li adds, giving you a side-eye. 

"That's all I have to say, reminder that your permission slips are due by the end of the week!"

You left orchestra that day slightly crestfallen with half of your ambitious late-night kickback plans foiled. Nevertheless, you can hardly focus on your academics as Thanksgiving holiday drew nearer and nearer. 

It seemed like eons passed when you, Ryujin, and Chaeryeong walked out of the biology classroom in cheers and high-fives, celebrating the successful completion of your last exam before Thanksgiving break, delighted to finally leave punnet squares, DNA base pairs, and mitosis behind. As soon as you got home, you flopped onto your bed for just a moment before scrambling back to your feet to retrieve the field trip itinerary from your backpack. Too energized to remain stationary, you start packing your things early. Because you were never one to make preparing for vacations a complicated affair, you finish in no time flat. You give Justin, your roommate for the trip, a call as a reminder to bring his Nintendo Switch, and you were just about set to take off. With no other task to spur you into action, you finally settle down on your bed and browse social media on your phone. Still feeling a bit of energy left in the tank, you decide to video call Chaeryeong. She picks up after one, two, three rings:

"Y/N! Gosh, I've been itching to find someone to bounce my thoughts off of; I'm glad you called," says Chaeryeong, who has changed out of her school clothes and into loungewear, a simple short sleeeved t-shirt and black leggings.

"Hahaha. You and me both, huh? I doubt I'll even be able to sleep Sunday night," you respond.

"Ah, I don't even know where to start with packing," says Chaeryeong, setting her phone aside to free up both of her hands. "How about you? Knowing you, you're probably already done, I bet." she guesses, returning with a knife, a cutting board, and a box of strawberries. 

"Yup. Sharp as always, I see," you chuckle, eliciting a cute nose scrunch from Chaeryeong in reply.

"I'm kinda bummed though, Justin and I are not gonna have as much fun without you guys with a Nintendo Switch to ourselves in the room."

"At least you're not stuck in a room with your MOM," Chaeryeong scoffs, causing the both of you to laugh at the sheer hilarity of the situation. 

"Your mom is a real one though for taking one for the team," you acknowledge. "She's got close ties to the program, sure, but she probably couldn't stand the thought of you kicking yourself at home watching the rest of us have fun without you." 

"That's very possible," muses Chaeryeong, spacing out for a moment, absentmindedly shoving strawberries into her mouth in the process.

"I wonder what Ryujin and Yeji's room have planned out. I'm sure they have no shortage of card and board games in mind."

"I know, right?" Chaeryeong perks up. "It's been a while since we've gotten together for game night. I lowkey miss getting smoked in mafia by Ryujin, right Y/N? You're no stranger to that feeling."

"Shut up," you laugh, unable to hide your blush at the sudden jab. You usually fared well during early rounds, but Ryujin had no trouble picking her opponents apart later on, when the test of nerves got down to the wire. For most people, having Ryujin on the opposite team was a death sentence. 

Chaeryeong giggles and gets up from her seat, finishing the last of her strawberries and walking to her bedroom. A smirk lingers on her face as she picks up some clothes to fold, unable to hide her pride of her wit. 

"You know, I've been craving breakfast food for a while now," you say.

"Oh god, same here," responds Chaeryeong, shaking her fists in enthusiasm. "Do you wanna go grab something tomorrow morning? Just you and me." 

"It's a date."

Beaming, Chaeryeong continues to fold clothes, before realizing the garment she's held to the camera was a pair of pink, lace panties. 

"Agh! Y/N, I'm so sorry, did you see that just now?" it was now Chaeryeong's turn to blush.

"See what?" you respond, using every ounce of willpower to conceal the laughter in your voice. 

"거짓말이야! (You're lying!)" Chaeryeong whines cutely, defaulting to Korean, something she always did when she was flustered.

"Oh? I think my parents are calling me, I've gotta go. Have fun packing~" you manage, stifling a chuckle.

"Okay," Chaeryeong pouts, her inflated cheeks still rosy. "I'll see you tomorrow!"

...

"Somebody's in a good mood today. What's so funny, Y/N?" asks your mom, who has entered your room to check out the commotion.

"Oh, nothing much, I just got off a call with Chaeryeong," you respond, your countenance betraying a slight smile.

"Sounds like fun," your mom chuckles. "Finished packing for your trip?" 

"Yup, all done."

"Awesome. Was the biology test today all right?" 

"It went well! We studied extra hard so we don't have to worry about it during break."

"It's so cool that Mrs. Lee got Chaeryeong a chance to tag along with you guys, you all totally deserve it after how hard you've worked," your mom comments.

"Right? It's going to be a blast. Hey, Chaeryeong and I are actually going to meet up tomorrow morning. Would you be okay with driving her and me to the breakfast place a few streets over?"

"Woooo, already? I had a feeling something like this would happen after all these years," your mom teases.

"Mom, it- it's not what you-" you start.

"You're blushing!" your mom laughs. "It's okay, I don't judge. Of course I can drive you!" 

You take a deep breath to collect your wits.

"For the record, Chaeryeong asked," you deflect. "I'm over the moon that she did, don't get me wrong. It's just, she's such a special person. I like her a lot, but I don't want to force anything. I want to be sure that the feeling is mutual. I respect that she'll need time to think things over. It's what she deserves."

"You're doing great, sweetheart." says your mom, giving your shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

...

You lean against the family SUV and take a deep breath, taking a moment to appreciate the aesthetic of the house that stood before you. Despite having been here many times before, today was the first time you've ever felt this nervous. You pull out your phone to notify Chaeryeong of your presence.

[9:31 am] **you:** yo, I'm outside

[9:32 am] **chae:** hii, I'll be out in a minute :D

Soon after, Chaeryeong emerges. Today, she was wearing an elegant white top with khaki brown joggers, her long, wavy hair flowing freely down her shoulders. There was something about her style that always drove you crazy: her prowess at making the most simple pieces into a look fit for a walk down the runway. On most days at school, she outdressed the girls in your year by a landslide. This Chaeryeong Lee approached you coyly, brushing excess strands of hair behind her big, adorable ears as she gradually lifted her gaze to meet your enraptured eyes.

"You look exceptionally pretty today, Chaeryeong Lee," you say, fueled by a burst of confidence.

"You don't look so bad yourself," Chaeryeong giggles.

"Shall we?" you open the back car door, inviting Chaeryeong to enter.

You hear Chaeryeong greet your mom as you make your way around to the car's opposite side and take your seat. 

"All set? Got your seatbelts?"

"Yep!" you and Chaeryeong respond in unison.

Upon arrival, the two of you thank your mom for the ride and find a booth inside the restaurant, settling on one privately tucked away from the sight of most diners. Not long after, a waiter promptly takes your order and departs, leaving you and Chaeryeong alone.

"How are things going with your choreographies?" you ask. 

"Really well, actually!" Chaeryeong's face lights up at your question. Dancing and choreographing dances has been a hobby of hers since she was very young, and it didn't take long for her to get extremely good at it with how passionate she was.

"I'm almost done with a couple that I started over the summer, but I need some more time to make them perfect," Chaeryeong continues, bringing her hands together with a small clap. "Hopefully I'll get to show them off at the school talent show, though it's been hard to make progress with school and all."

"That's amazing," you manage, speechless. It seemed like a bright flame ignited in the depths of Chaeryeong's soul whenever anyone got her to talk about her passions, which never failed to bring out a refreshing side of her. From the dreamy sparkle in her eyes to the sultry, confident, CEO-like undertones garnishing her delicate voice, everything about it made you want to spend all day listening to her talk.

Just then, the waiter returns with your food: as much as you liked breakfast food for its taste, it was also remarkably pleasing to the eyes. Laid out in front of you were plates of syrupy pancakes, fruit cups, avocado toast, and bacon, among other things that comprised all the colors of the rainbow, facilitating an ambiance that was satisfactory to both the visual and aromatic palette. 

"Chaeryeong!" you call out, holding up your phone camera.

Familiar with the drill, Chaeryeong throws up two peace signs and gives you a dimply smile. 

Analyzing the photo you took, you decide a caption isn't necessary before uploading it onto your Instagram story. You set your phone down and get to work with clearing the plate in front of you. Before you can get off a second bite of sausage, you feel your phone buzzing incessantly in your front pocket. Only when you and Chaeryeong have made a significant dent in your food is when you two take a phone break, allowing you to address the flood of Instagram story replies that completely obscured your lock screen.

"Damnn Y/N fuckss," from Justin is the first one you see, catching you completely off guard. 

Taking a quick scan of your surroundings to ensure nobody else could see your screen, "HSLHKRJSLRHJS" is what you respond with, capturing the essence of your reaction.

"역시 Y/N ㅋㅋㅋ ," (As expected of Y/N, haha) reads Yeji's reply. 

"lay a finger on her and you can kiss your cojones goodbye," reads Ryujin's. 

You reply with a couple of laughing emojis, following suit for other replies of similar nature before finishing the last of the food with Chaeryeong's help and carrying on with your conversation. It takes you some convincing before Chaeryeong lets you take the bill, and the two of you then move to the nearby park for a stroll. Not wanting to curtail your time together, you don't even bother asking your mom for a ride home as your walk eventually takes you back to Chaeryeong's house.

"Today was so much fun, Chaeryeong. Thank you for this," you say.

"Thank _you_. We should definitely do this again."

"Chaeryeong, I..." you stutter.

"What is it, Y/N?" 

"Nothing. I'm just glad that you're here," you answer.

With an affectionate gaze, Chaeryeong extends her arms outward for a hug. You take a step forward into her arms, feeling the rush of oxytocin shooting down your spine. The marriage of Chaeryeong's gentle arms around your torso, the addictive scent of lavender on her hair and clothes, and the mere knowledge that the person sharing your embrace was the one whom you trusted unconditionally and the one who understood everything just by looking into your eyes, created a sensation of being under a warm blanket on a rainy day that you never wanted to leave. 

And so, you didn't.


	4. Retreating from the Masses

Your body switches you awake at 4 AM, and you can't catch an extra wink of sleep no matter how hard you try. You walk downstairs to the kitchen to make a cup of green tea, deciding there were things more productive than laying idly in bed. Reaching for your bluetooth speaker, you let some Kpop play in the background, switching over to your internet browser to read the morning news. As you finish your drink, you start heading back to your room before making a detour to the bathroom for a shower. Taking some time to relish the hot water running down your body and freeing it from the grip of the chilly morning draft, you, at last, find it in yourself to get out, unleashing a cloud of steam onto the bathroom's mirrors. You remedy this by grabbing a towel to wipe out a visible circle and examine your reflection, brushing strands of freshly washed hair out of your eyes. Reaching for a second towel, you dry off your body's excess moisture and keep it wrapped around your body on the trip back to your room before taking a seat on the foot of your bed, turning your attention back to your phone.

[4:51 AM] **you** :Yo, you up yet?

[4:52 AM] **J Nguyen** : Yeah lol, couldn't sleep at all. At least us being up this early makes Mr. Li's 6:30 AM call time more bearable.

[4:52 AM] **J Nguyen** : You down to get some McDonald's right now? We could grab some McMuffins for the squad while we're at it, they probably won't have as much time as we do to eat breakfast. Pick you up at your place? 

[4:53 AM] **you** : Sounds good 👌

Not wanting to wake your family at this hour, you leave a note on the coffee table before getting dressed and collecting your luggage. At the sight of Justin's car coming into the driveway, you walk downstairs and meet him outside after throwing on your thick winter coat. The two of you haul your luggage into the back seat and you ride shotgun as Justin chooses a playlist to bump on the stereo. Feeling your grogginess wane with the upbeat tunes and the caffeine making its course through your body, you and Justin have an impromptu car karaoke session before arriving at your destination. You enter and manage to place your orders and secure a table in no time, seeing that the two of you are the only ones in the restaurant at the time. 

"So," begins Justin, his face betraying a mischievous smirk. "How did it go?" 

"How did what go?" you pretend, though you knew exactly what he was talking about.

"You know, your little breakfast outing," he responds, in the middle of typing out a text:

[5:15 AM] **Justin** : Meet up in front of campus at 6. Hope yall got an appetite this morning. Don't be late 🥴.

You offer a smirk of your own as you stand up to pick up your orders from the front counter, ignoring the question. Despite taking your sweet time acquiring condiments, utensils, and napkins, you aren't off the hook for long as Justin picks up right where he left off the moment you return to your seat. 

"So? What happened?" he presses on.

You finally give in, seeing that your friend showed no signs of giving up.

"It was nice," you answer vaguely, munching on a hash brown.

"Oh come on, you gotta do better than that." 

"We talked a lot. I couldn't take my eyes off of her the whole time, she's so dang cute and even more fun to be around." 

"Okay, but did anything _interesting_ happen though?" Justin probes.

Thinking back to that day, you recall the way Chaeryeong held out her arms for your taking, her lovely doe-eyes giving you the green light to throw all caution into the wind, and your accepting and stepping into her embrace along with all the sensations that came with it. Just the mere recollection of the experience is enough to send chills down your spine. 

"We hugged, I guess. For quite a while, actually, at least that's what it felt like for me." you reply, bringing your hands to your cheeks in a futile effort to hide your blush.

"There you go! That's a good place to start," your friend chuckles. "At least you didn't treat her to all that food for nothing. Looking at your Instagram story, yall might as well have ordered the whole damn menu." 

You can't help but laugh at the mention of your story, remembering Justin's response. Your little date had made a noticeable dent on your savings, but even so, you were more than happy to do it for Chaeryeong. 

The two of you wrap up your meal, walking out with your arms full with bags of McMuffins as planned. You arrive on campus a couple minutes before 6, where a small crowd decked out in full winter gear was already starting to form on the front lawn, including your squad.

"Heyyy, it's the boys!" announces Ryujin, alerting the group of your presence.

"Oh my gosh, you guys didn't have to, thank you guys so much," gushes Yuna.

"Hahaha, don't give me so much credit, this was all Justin's idea," you say, taking a seat next to Yeji, who smiles in greeting.

"Wow, how thoughtful..." says Yuna dreamily, shifting her gaze over to Justin, who responds with a shy smile.

Your friends enjoy the food and carry on with the chatter. You are watching them contently before you feel a tap on your shoulder. It was Justin, who gave you the look he had whenever he had an urge to bounce his energy off of someone. Although this time, you had an idea what your friend was getting excited about.

"Say, do a lot of freshmen go to prom these days?" asks Justin.

"Why, are you this confident in your game that you can get someone to go with you this early on?" you chuckle.

"Hey now, I never said that," replies Justin with a sly smile.

Not long after, Mr. Li appears and draws the attention of the building crowd. 

"Okay everyone, I know we're all excited to get going but I need band and orchestra to form two separate lines so I can do a quick head count. Then after, please unzip all your bags so our chaperones can search them. The faster we get this done, the faster we can go."

To your surprise, things go very smoothly, giving you free rein to dash over to the buses and scan the occupants of each in search of your friends. This didn't take long as the band and orchestra students had organically segregated themselves for the most part with the exception of Yuna, who had seated herself next to Justin.

"I guess no quality time for the boys," you pout at Justin.

"I'm sure a few hours away from each other won't kill anyone," Yuna giggles.

"I'm gonna miss you, baby," Justin responds, blowing you a kiss as you leave.

Snickering, you walk farther towards the back of the bus, eventually finding Chaeryeong. 

"Didn't sleep very much?" you ask.

Chaeryeong nods, her eyes glazed over and unable to focus on anything much other than the shoes on her feet. 

"I laid in bed for hours trying to knock out, but when that didn't work, I played a mobile game. Though it would have been smart to do a time check along the way, because before I knew it, it was already time to get ready to leave," Chaeryeong finishes, facepalming herself in regret. 

"Well at least you have the McDonald's in your stomach, if anything."

Chaeryeong can only give you a smile to express her thanks before falling asleep, her head finding its way on your shoulder for support. Setting your backpack on the floor at your feet, you free both of your hands to ensure Chaeryeong stayed in a secure position. Spotting a small pillow sticking out of Chaeryeong's bag, you retrieve it and place it by the window on her opposite side in case she happened to lean that way. You do one more scan of your surroundings, confirming that there wasn't any more you could do to make the space cozier. Soon, you feel your eyelids grow heavy, and it doesn't take long before you doze off as well. 

...

The next time you open your eyes, you were met with an astonishing view: gone were the rows of houses and intermittent greenery that lined your suburban hometown, replaced by miles upon miles of evergreen trees powdered white by the falling snow. Additionally, the ground and occasional buildings were well covered in a thick blanket of white reminiscent of cake frosting, which made for an overwhelmingly smooth and undisturbed visual that was so satisfying you could almost taste it.

"Is your shoulder okay? Seems like I was on it for a while," asks Chaeryeong apologetically, seemingly having woken up before you did.

"No worries, If anything, I probably slept it off," you chuckle. You produce two hot packs and pass one to Chaeryeong before retraining your eyes on the scenery.

"You're seeing this, right? It's so beautiful," you marvel. 

Chaeryeong nods, lost in thought.

The sun is already starting to set when the bus arrives at the hotel, a multi-story structure with lanterns decorating the entire perimeter. Despite its appearance being more on the modest side, the way it blended with the surrounding terrain and the falling snow made it truly picturesque, almost as if it came from a scene out of a movie. After collecting your luggage, you and Chaeryeong part ways as Mr. Li instructs to find your assigned roommate for card key distribution. Catching sight of Justin gesturing at you from the crowd, you make your way into the lobby and take a seat as you await your room keys. Almost on instinct, you take a look up at the ceiling. Hotel lobby chandeliers always fascinated you, and this time was no different. This one in particular resembled the shape of a chocolate fountain turned upside down decorated generously with radiant jewels from top to bottom, which created a geometric uniformity that was pleasing to the eye. 

At last, you and Justin get your room keys and make a dash for the elevator. As the elevator lets you off on the fifth floor, you enter an exquisite looking hallway lined with red carpet illuminated with fashionable lanterns similar to the ones you saw outside. Other than the soft rumble of your luggage wheels, the floor was mostly quiet as you stop in front of Room 503. When the lock accepts your key card with a beep, the two of you step through the threshold. The room itself doesn't look far from your typical hotel room: the standard two beds, a bathroom, a TV with its accompanying dresser, and a mini fridge stocked with snacks that you were, unfortunately, prohibited from accessing. However, despite its simple composition, the room made you feel right at home. 

Rather than go back downstairs to mingle in the lobby, the two of you lay silently on your beds to rest off the grueling bus ride. You watch Justin flick through the TV channels for something interesting to watch before you hear a knock on your door. Not expecting anyone to visit, the two of you jump out of your beds to answer out of curiosity.

"Oh, hey Cass! What's up?" you greet. 

"Haha, not much. Just wanted to pass on that the section leaders are gonna host a game night in like 15 minutes, if you wanna join." says Cass.

Glancing at Justin for confirmation, you respond: "Sounds good! Is it cool if Mrs. Lee's daughter tags along? I know this is kind of an orchestra/band thing."

"Sure! Her name's Chaeryeong, right? The more the merrier." 

"How are you enjoying the trip so far?" asks Justin.

"It's been great! It's a shame I'm way exhausted out of my mind to take in the beauty of the city and the hotel very much, thanks for asking! I honestly didn't expect much, but Mr. Li really went all out for us. Hopefully we'll get to do a lot of fun things together as a section," says Cass.

"Yeah, for sure! I guess we'll see you in a couple of minutes!" you reply.

"Awesome! Hit me up at Room 511 if you need anything." 

You turn your back to your door after Cass leaves and hop onto the group chat:

[8:45 PM] **you** : Are you guys going to game night? Justin and I are pretty down for this. Chaeryeong, I asked Cass if you could tag along and he said you could!

[8:46 PM] **Yeji** : It sounds exciting! Yes, I'll be there 🤚

[8:46 PM] **Chaeryeong** : Downnnnn, thank you for asking!

[8:47 PM] **Yuna** : Beats sitting around doing nothing, I'm in 🤩

[8:50 PM] **Ryujin** : 👍👍

"Not gonna lie," you speak aloud to Justin, "I was only sold when Cass implied that the teachers and chaperones had nothing to do with this." 

"I sure hope so," Justin laughs. "If it's anything I expect, a lot of tea is gonna get spilled." 

As it turns out, to say that the orchestra and band students got to know each other a lot better that night would be the understatement of the year. 


	5. Paranoid

Most of the music kids are already mingling in the designated meeting room by the time you and Justin walk in, so the action starts almost right away.

"Hey guys, thank you all for coming out to game night! I hope yall have been enjoying the trip so far and us section leaders wanted orchestra and band to get to know each other a little better so that we could have a fun rest of the trip and a fun rest of the year," begins Edea. "This was something we've planned for a while, so we encourage everyone to be yourselves and just have a good time." 

The night started off with a game called Hot Take, which entailed moving to a specific section of a room corresponding to the opinion you shared about funny topics such as "Is a hot dog a sandwich?" or "Should mint chocolate chip ice cream be abolished?". Over time, this got very entertaining for onlookers as you and Ryujin completely mopped the floor when the two of you had the same opinion but caused an infinite back and forth stalemate whenever you disagreed. The next game was Silent Assassin, which involved one person equipping a blindfold and a pool noodle and seeing who could eliminate the room in the shortest amount of time. Here it was Yuna who won by a landslide, given her long reach and height along with her athleticism. Your personal favorite out of the next few games was Indian Chief, where one person was chosen to perform movements that the entire outside of the circle would follow and a person in the center to guess who the Chief was. It was hard for your friends not to blow each others' cover as you all got a kick out of getting the whole room to do Kpop dances.

"Alright, since the night is winding down, we're gonna do something a little more interesting. How does a game of paranoia sound?" asks Stephen Chuang, the orchestra's concertmaster.

Seeing his question being met with bright enthusiasm, Stephen continues: "Okay, for those who don't know the rules, you have to whisper to the person next to you a question that has to be answered with a name belonging to someone in this room. The name will always be said aloud, but we'll flip a coin to see if the question will be revealed. For time's sake, let's just say Heads is safe and Tails will reveal. Now, I need everyone to form a circle again." 

"Is this a personal attack?" whines Yeji, "I literally have the worst luck when it comes to coin flips." 

"Dang, they really went all out with this," muses Justin. "I'm into it."

"Right, let's say that whoever has a birthday closest to today's date will start," says Edea.

"I guess that would be me," says Noah Lopez, an alto saxophone player from band and turns to the person to his right to whisper a question.

"Yuna."

Ryujin snickers when her cousin's name is called out right off the bat and everyone else watches closely in wait of the coin toss result. It lands on tails.

"Spill it, Noah," challenges Yuna.

"Who's most likely to become assistant drum major," chuckles Noah.

The room, well aware of the feud between Yuna and George Xi, erupts like a volcano. Yuna finds herself wide-eyed and jaw agape in pleasant amazement, whereas in George's case, seething, that his section mate opted not to vouch for him in favor of someone who was two years his junior. 

"Well, this game is already off to a great start," says Justin in between chuckles.

The next question went to an orchestra freshman girl, who chooses Ryujin for her answer. A flip of a coin reveals tails.

"Who in this room would you trust to have your back during a fight," says the girl shyly.

"Whoaa, you go Ryujin," you cheer with the crowd, as she makes her way across the room to give the girl a hug. 

"You hear that, Y/N?" says Ryujin upon her return. "She chose me, the superior martial artist," she taunts.

"I guess you do have your moments."

A few rounds of the coin landing on heads go by before the next question goes to Stephanie Choa, an orchestra junior girl who was known to be extra chatty around Mark.

"Mark," she giggles. Bracing herself for the worst, she flips the coin for it to land, once again, on tails. The room waits expectantly as Stephanie hesitates to reveal the question, her friends egging her on. Unable to bear the pressure for any longer, she says, "Which guy in this room has the biggest package?"

"Wait, say what now?" Mark responds. 

The room is sent into complete chaos as both Johnny and Justin flop down to the ground in laughter and Mark stands there speechless, bringing up his hands to shield his face out of embarrassment. The only person who seems to be unfazed is Edea, who glares daggers at Stephanie. 

"How in the world would she know though," asks a teary-eyed Johnny, making sure he was heard loud and clear.

"I, um, it's not... like... GUYS!" Mark sputters as everyone breaks into another round of laughter at his response. 

"Come on guys, he just has that kind of energy, it's not that deep," responds Stephanie defensively.

"Alright, for future reference, let's keep the questions PG so we don't all get in trouble," Stephen chimes in, saving Mark from further embarrassment. 

"Oh! I got a good one. Can I volunteer to ask next?" asks Johnny.

Stephen nods.

"Here we go again," says Mark.

 _"So, Mark, if you had to date one person in this room, who would it be?"_ whispers Johnny.

"You, bro! Why ask what you already know the answer to?" Mark says aloud.

"No, but actually though," Johnny presses.

 _"What the fuck, Johnny? You're really making me risk it all for a stupid game..."_ Mark whispers sharply.

After a brief pause and a sigh, Mark says, "Fine, Edea."

Suddenly, all eyes shifted from Johnny to Edea as the crowd's ever mounting curiosity reaches its peak when Mark flips his coin. The result?

Heads.

Mark visibly relaxes and lets out a sigh. "Thank God! I would _not_ have lived through that one."

"Mark, you better not be talking shit," Edea calls out, her eyes narrowing in suspicion.

"No, it's not anything bad, I promise," defends Mark.

"Then why were you so worried about being exposed?"

Suddenly, every pair of eyes moved back and forth between Mark and Edea like a tennis match, some showing signs of concern that the two were about to square off right then and there. 

"Hey Edea, I have my boxing gloves in my room if you want me to go grab them," Ryujin heckles, thoroughly enjoying herself at the sight of this exchange. 

"Whoa, whoa, I didn't mean to start anything," says Mark, a hint of fear in his voice. 

"Then don't be shy, tell us the question!" Edea holds her ground.

"We're moving on!" Johnny hollers.

"Okay, can we get another volunteer?" Stephen shouts. Edea finally rests her case, who settles on rolling her eyes.

Eventually, a group of boys from band take the next question and immediately start howling in laughter, leaving one of the boys in utter disbelief at the question he was expected to answer.

"I...I guess I'll go with Chaeryeong."

"Oh?" quips Justin, looking at your expression.

"Holy shit, this game just keeps getting better and better," you say.

And the coin flip? Tails.

"SAY IT, SAY IT!" eggs on the boy's friends, joyfully flabbergasted at the outcome.

"It's... 'Out of everyone here, who would you date?'"

At this point, everyone in the hotel would have been woken up by now by the volume of screaming that this room has gotten at.

"What the..." says Justin.

"대박 (Unbelievable)," says Yuna.

"Did... did that really just happen?" says a dumbfounded Mark, turning to Johnny, who looked like he was bound to piss himself from laughing so much. 

"Are you for real? I'm flattered," Chaeryeong giggles.

"I mean, I know you're not in orchestra or band," the boy continues, "but I've always seen you around school, and I think you're really cute. You also play tennis really well!"

The room hypes him up for his bravery before turning the spotlight on Chaeryeong, who has to think for a moment before replying. Meanwhile, you feel Justin give your shoulders a reassuring squeeze.

"I'm really happy that you think of me that way, and I admire your courage and honesty. But... I'm afraid I don't feel the same, I'm sorry." Chaeryeong pouts.

Abashed, the boy retreats back into his spot in the circle.

"Looks like we got a celebrity over here," Yeji teases Chaeryeong quietly.

"Ooh, I got the next question!" exclaims Emily, one of your section mates, turning over and whispering to the girl standing adjacent to her.

"Definitely George," the girl snickers. 

George perks up at the sound of his name as the coin lands on tails once again.

"Ah... the question was 'who in this room appears to be the dumbest' but you're actually one of the smartest people I know, George! You just don't look like it." 

"It's all good," George chuckles. 

"Well if I didn't look like the dumbest before, I definitely do after today," he mutters to himself. 

"You should've said Mark." Edea retorts, seething in silent anger.

"Alright, it's getting pretty late, so I'm afraid we're gonna end it here," Stephen chuckles nervously. "You guys really blew the roof off of this place; thank you guys once again for coming out. I want to remind yall that this is just a game and to walk away not taking anything too personally. Get a good night's rest and we'll see each other tomorrow!" 

...

Edea quietly slips out of the meeting room and heads straight for the elevators. She's angry, and for what? Even she doesn't know. Mark was just following the rules of the game, as was everyone else. 

"It's just a game," Edea whispers quietly to herself. 

_Ding!_ the elevator chimes in front of her and the doors open. Just as she's about to enter, she feels a warm grasp on her wrist.

"Edea." It was a voice she knew all too well. The voice that she absolutely _didn't_ want to hear right now.

Without turning around, Edea pulls away and says, "I'm not in the mood." 

"Please, just give me ten seconds." 

As she ponders, the elevator doors close in front of her. Edea sighs and turns around to face Mark, who looks straight at her with pleading eyes. 

"Fine." Edea answers.

"Look, what Johnny asked in the game- it really wasn't anything bad, I _swear_. " Mark explains.

"But you still won't tell me what it is." 

"I... I can't."

"You said Johnny first, but then he pressured you and then you said my name super reluctantly. Why?" 

"I can't tell you right now, and I don't want to lie to you about it."

"You were thinking of _lying_ to me about it?! What kind of bullshit is 'it's not anything bad' but you can't tell me what it is, AND you thought about lying-"

"The only reason why I'd have to think about lying is because _you_ are just so _freaking_ stubborn and won't drop it-"

"Oh you wanna talk _stubborn_? You're the one who started a _fight_ on _stage_ freshman year with the other actor in the musical on _opening night_ just because yall had a squabble backstage! You could've ruined it for _all_ of us. The actors, _and_ the orchestra. You're lucky you just got banned from having roles in the musical and not the entire arts program." Edea explodes.

Mark stares at Edea in disbelief with his eyes wide before exploding,

"Dude, are you serious? I didn't even _want_ to be in any part of this after that incident but _you_ were the one who _begged_ me to join orchestra because _you_ don't get along with anyone else in orchestra who's in the same year as us."

"I have _never_ begged in my whole life. Anyhow, your ten seconds have been up." Edea scoffs and steps into the elevator as soon as the doors open.

She makes sure to shoot Mark the deadliest glare before the elevator doors shut, blocking him from her sight and carrying her up to her floor.

...

"Should we go with the Coke or the iced tea?"

After an intense game night, the orchestra and band students flocked over to the snack bar of the hotel for refreshments. You and Justin were especially hungry and your arms were a clear reflection of the fact, filled to the brim with potato chips, cookies, and sour gummies. As you reach down to retrieve your iced tea from the machine, the sound of Ryujin's voice attracts the attention of everyone in the vicinity:

"Hey guys. So, I was getting a head start going back to the rooms, but it seems like Mark and Edea are fighting. I wouldn't use the elevators on the left side right now. Just gonna put that out there." 


	6. All or Nothing

"Edea... as in, my sister Edea?"

You had pulled Ryujin aside to discuss the elevator incident, still in the midst of processing what you just heard.

"Yeah... I don't think she's going to let this one go anytime soon," says Ryujin.

"I can't believe this," you say in resignation. For how long you've known Edea, you knew she had a short fuse that especially showed during competitive environments, but you hadn't expected her to make such a big fuss in front of your classmates. And certainly not during retreat. 

Groaning, you meet Justin's eyes, and both of your looks communicated one thing: there was no way in hell you were climbing five flights of stairs with the amount of stuff you were holding. While everyone was still in the process of buying snacks, the two of you slipped out of the snack bar and into the lobby, wrapping all the way around to access the elevator opposite to the one Ryujin warned against using. Fortunately, the line looked like a feasible wait, so it only takes five minutes tops for you and Justin to make it back to your room and toss your goodies onto the beds, taking several trips to retrieve the remaining stash from the hallway that was set down momentarily to free up hands to unlock the door. On the way to close the front door, you notice that a queue noticeably longer than the one you were in had formed outside the elevator on the bottom floor.

"Hey, come have a look at this line," you chuckle, beckoning Justin over.

"Oh shit," says Justin. "We really 2000 IQ'ed our way out of that one. I'm surprised everyone listened and actually took the other elevator."

"Did you not see how Edea was about to beat the shit out of Mark in the middle of paranoia? I would listen too." you respond. "Wait, is that Mr. Li?"

You see Mr. Li approach the crowd at the elevator, appearing visibly confused. Although you were five floors up, sound traveled well enough that you could just make out what was going on:

"Hey, why aren't any of you guys using the other elevator?" asks Mr. Li.

"You see, uh..." begins Johnny, as he spots Mark walking towards them from the lobby's opposite side. 

"If this is your guys' little plan to stay up past curfew, you're doing a terrible job being subtle. I want half of you to go over to the other elevator and take it back to your rooms. Right now. Remember, our call time is at 8:30 in the morning, so don't be late." Mr. Li says, addressing the group of students at the elevator. You watch the line gradually disperse, taking note of Mark shaking his head as he finally reaches Johnny.

"I guess our boy Mark got his ass handed to him," you conclude.

"Damn, is your sister usually like this?" Justin asks.

"She's been worse," you say dismissively, evoking a loud guffaw from Justin. 

Still quietly impressed by your shrewd decision to take the elevator early, you and Justin walk back inside your room and get started on your haul. You crack open your can of iced tea and take a swig, exhaling in pleasure. 

"What a way to end the day," you say, leaning against your bed's headboard. You take another long sip of your drink before setting it on the nightstand.

"Agreed. So much stuff went down in the last 24 hours; I don't even know what to say," laughs Justin. "I'm still lowkey cracking up over the Chaeryeong thing, that guy had mad guts to confess to her like that in front of so many people."

"I mean, anyone with eyes would confess like that. She's an angel," you gush.

"So why haven't you confessed?" retorts Justin with a wink. 

You let a sigh. "Something's telling me that the timing isn't right yet. I feel like I have a ways to go before she trusts me enough to want a relationship."

"She seemed to trust you enough to sleep on your shoulder for a whole bus ride."

"Okay, she was so tired that she probably didn't know what she was doing," you blush. "Anyway, that's going to be us if we don't go to sleep, it's getting super late."

"Alright Y/N, Enjoy your sweet Chaeryeong dreams," Justin says sarcastically.

...

Vigorously wiping your sleep-filled eyes, you awaken to a flood of dings coming from your phone. 

"Cass and Mark saved the section a table for breakfast. Coming?"

Justin, who had risen shortly before you did, was sipping water from a bottle. You mumble to express affirmation, and you trudge to the shower to wash out your bed head. After blow-drying your hair into a satisfactory position, you rummage through your suitcase for something to wear. Stealing one final glance at the mirror, you and Justin head out hastily as you feel your hunger grow unbearable by the second. Fortunately, the elevator had already stopped on your floor when you called it, and the two of you step inside. Once the doors close, you examine the walls, wondering what exactly had transpired the night before in this exact spot. As the elevator lets you off on the ground floor, you traverse the lobby in search of your section. You spot Edea seated at a table with what looks like her own section: of those you recognize, you notice Joe Woo, as well as Willis Tan, a boy in the same year as you. However, Johnny was nowhere in sight. At the moment, Edea was speaking crossly to Joe Woo about what you could only assume was not-so-nice words about Mark.

All of a sudden, your noses detect the smell of breakfast food, drawing you and Justin to the buffet line like moths to a flame. Overwhelmed by your hunger, your plates are soon loaded with an assortment of eggs, bacon, sausage links, potatoes, and french toast. You and Justin continue the search for your table before finally spotting Mark and Cass, who makes eye contact with you and waves you and Justin over. Today, Cass was wearing a stylish light blue pullover and dark blue jeans, and Mark, a worn red t-shirt and basketball shorts paired with black Adidas slides along with round, golden frames to go with his disheveled black hair.

"Hey guys, slept well?" asks Cass. "If not, hopefully you slept better than he did," he finishes, patting a disoriented Mark on the shoulder. 

"Mornin' guys," says Mark, his voice noticeably lower than usual, most likely due to sleep. "I'm fine, really. Don't worry about me."

You and Justin exchange glances, well aware of yesterday's events. 

"It's chill. Shit happens to the best of us," you resassure Mark, digging into a slice of bacon. 

At that moment, your phone chimes. Upon seeing who the sender is, you shoot Justin a questioning glare. 

[8:42 AM] **J Nguyen** : Bruh, if Mark lost sleep over something dumb like this, is this dude drilling your sister to be caring this much? 😳😳

[8:43 AM] **you** : wtf how am I supposed to know the answer to that

"Oop," utters Justin aloud, causing Cass to perk up at the sudden noise.

[8:43 AM] **J Ngyuen** : bc she's your sister 😂

Struggling to hold back laughter, you try your best to keep a straight face before setting down your phone and continuing to chow down on your breakfast. Justin follows suit for a moment before setting down his utensils once again.

"Hey Mark, having girl problems?" Justin asks, earning a warning look from Cass.

"Not really, but girls... can be difficult," answers Mark, now shaken out of his stupor. 

"Welp, if you need a place to get some insightful advice, I'm your man," Justin grins.

Mark chuckles. "Thanks man, I really appreciate it." 

Breakfast ends on a lighter note as you and Justin reunite with your usual group as the students await the bus that would take you to the first schedule on the itinerary. After a grueling morning hike, a relaxing sightseeing session at Big Bear Lake ends with lunch and some downtime by the lakeshore, which proved to be a remarkable photo op. The morning sun reflected beautifully off of the frozen lake, casting shimmers of gold as far as the eyes could see as well as a perfect mirror image of the underlying backdrop of mountains and accompanying treeline on the ice.

"Okay, I'm taking the picture!" Yuna calls out.

Chaeryeong and Ryujin, standing in front of the lake, bicker hurriedly before flaring out their lips and striking a cute pose, getting you and your friends to crack up heartily. 

"귀여워!" squeals Yeji and Yuna in unison. 

"Yo, all of you, get in here!" beckons Ryujin.

"Hey Cass, could you take a quick photo of us?" you ask, identifying the nearest bystander. 

"Sure, of course!" Cass responds, taking your smartphone. "All right guys, one, two, three!"

_Click. Click. Click._

"I took a bunch for yall." 

"Thanks Cass!" you all chant.

"Oh shoot, we need to take section pictures! WINDS, SECTION PICTURE!" Cass hollers.

After the last of the sections wrap up their group pictures, Mr. Li rounds up the students to announce the next activity.

"Now, we're going to do something that most of you have been waiting for. For some of you, it might have been the only reason you agreed to come to retreat. I want orchestra students on my left and band students on my right. If you're in both, or in some special cases, neither, you get to choose which team you want to join. We're having a snowball fight," he says, as the students erupt into ecstatic cheers. "You have thirty minutes to set up your defenses and build up ammunition however you want. Any tactic is fair game. After those thirty minutes are up, it's kill or be killed. GO!" 

Immediately, the orchestra joins in a huddle, and seniors and section leaders begin delegating tasks. The string section, with their strength in numbers, efficiently build wide forts along multiple lines of defense. The winds and percussion sections get to building snowballs and packing them into coolers for mobility in case anybody needs extra ammunition in a pinch. Afterwards, the percussionists scale a ridge to take the high ground and set up a makeshift scout station to alert the front lines of incoming threats. 

All of a sudden, you feel an aggressive buzz in your pocket, and so does everyone standing around you. Puzzled, you bring out your cell phone and answer it.

"Orchestra, do you copy? This is Johnny Suh reporting from Scout Tower Charlie, over." 

"Stop being so extra!" Edea's voice could be heard in the background. It turns out that the percussion section had wisely started a massive group call. 

"Dude, stop that!" Mark laughs. "We gotta focus!" 

"Smart move, Johnny. Let's keep in touch," chuckles Stephen as he puts in his Airpods. 

Five minutes before time was up, the section leaders reconvene in the center to finalize their plans. After reaching unanimous agreement, they scatter, heading back to their respective sections to relay the final plan.

"Okay, time's up!" announces Mr. Li. "I want to see everyone's hands up in the air, no more preparation! Everyone ready? 3, 2, 1, FIGHT!" 

In the span of three seconds, the peaceful lakeshore erupts into complete chaos as snowballs start flying left, right, and center. Edea does not have time to return to her scout station before a snowball comes hurtling as she's making a run for it.

 _Splat_.

Edea whips around at the sound of Mark intercepting the snowball as he returns fire, nailing George Xi square in the head.

"Watch your back," says Mark coldly. 

Edea contemplates whether or not to say something as she catches Mark's stoic expression, but he had already turned his back to her. She retains her silence and continues her dash for the scout station. 

Meanwhile, cheers break out among the violins, as they successfully overwhelm a sizable squad of band kids into retreating. 

"There's a group preparing for a heavy assault over at left flank! If we rush them, we can catch them off guard as they're still loading up on supplies!" heralds Willis.

"I'm on it!" you respond.

"Right behind you," adds Ryujin, who joins your side. You two squad up with Cass, Justin, and a group of girls from the winds section, who readily tag along, seeing that the strings had no trouble holding their ground at the moment. The left flank group, was in fact, off-guard as your entourage completely hoses them down with a flurry of snowballs, shouting taunts as they inevitably back off, for good measure. At this point, the orchestra had the band on their back foot, but they certainly weren't giving up without a fight. A stalemate ensues as the band hunkers down on the innermost portion of their reinforcements, taking a position that would result in a complete wipeout of the orchestra if you made any attempt to advance towards it.

"Front line, you're doing great. Keep them occupied. While they're focused on you guys... we need two groups to scatter into the hills and sandwich them from the right and left flanks," says Johnny.

"Okay, we have to go _now_ while the front line has the upper hand," urges Cass, addressing the growing group of runners. "This looks like a good amount of people. Charles, can you lead your party to the left flank and I'll take mine to the right? We'll have to stagger our rotations so we don't get spotted. Let's signal once we're all ready at the crest of the hill, and we'll push."

"Solid plan. Let's go!" barks Charles.

...

Despite the thick winter gloves you wore, you felt your fingers growing numb from pawing the sides of the steep hill to maintain balance and stealth. After what felt like hours of climbing, you see the terrain level off as you finally approach the crest of the hill. 

"I really hope this pays off," pleads Justin.

As your party takes a peek over the hill, you confirm that the band kids have their attention still trained on the front line. 

"Charles, I have eyes. They don't know that we're here. How are things over on your side?" asks Cass.

"Ah," responds Charles. "It seems like the band kids had the same idea as we did, and... ah shit that hurt... we got ourselves into a big fight," he finishes, taking snowballs to the chin as he's relaying information. 

"So I guess we have to make the push by ourselves... and make such a big commotion that they're forced to ditch you guys to return to the front line," Cass says slowly, furrowing his eyebrows.

"Yes, please. I'm counting on you," responds Charles.

**HELP!**

A shrill female voice cuts through the exchange, and more horrific screams could be heard reverberating in the background as seconds tick by. 


	7. Guilt Trip

In an instant, the front line battle ceases as every person in sight makes a full sprint towards the source of the scream. After a brief exchange of glances, your group follows suit. Your heart skips a beat at the scene that unfolded before your eyes: a frantic Yeji screaming for help, chest-deep in frigid lake water, holding onto an intact sheet of ice for dear life. Somehow, she had managed to move a sizable distance away from the shore before falling through the ice, making her dreadfully out of reach. Taking a look at your surroundings, the display of so many people standing idly while your friend could very well be dying sent a tidal wave of rage through your shaking body. 

"What the fuck are you all doing just standing here? I'm jumping in to save her, even if it means going alone. You're welcome to join me, but nobody's going to stop me."

"Don't go alone." A tall figure pushes through the crowd. "You're not strong enough to pull her out alone, and the last thing we want is both of you drowning. Allow me to help," Johnny offers stoically. 

"Me too," Edea chimes in, a long coil of rope slung over her shoulder. 

You manage a smile to express your appreciation before furrowing your brows once again. 

"Here's what's gonna happen," you start. "Johnny, I need you to keep a firm grip on one end of this rope while I crawl out towards Yeji to pass her the other end. Once we know that she's got it, I need as many of you all to pull as hard as you can while I make my way back. Does that make sense?"

"Couldn't have said it any better," says Johnny, giving you an encouraging smile. "God bless."

"Yeji, we're coming for you! Just stay calm and sit tight!" you shout.

"Okay! Please be careful!" Yeji replies, who, thankfully, seems to have calmed down a bit.

_Here goes nothing._

You get on all fours to evenly distribute your weight and are taken aback by the slickness of the ice as soon as your first limb makes contact.

_Holy shit_ , you think, taking a moment to collect your wits.

Maintaining a safe but urgent pace, you inch your way over to Yeji, keeping a firm grip on the rope. Once you're within range, you give the rope an adroit toss.

"I got it!" whoops Yeji.

"Tie it around your waist. Your hands might be too clammy to hold on tightly," you command.

Once Yeji flashes a thumbs up signal after securing herself, the people at shore start pulling her to safety. Crawling your way back to shore, you keep an eye out as Yeji slowly glides past you across the ice. Johnny extends a hand to pull you up once you have crawled within reach, and the students break into cheers and applause in relief. Ryujin squeezes your shoulder in validation, and you collapse to your knees out of shock and exhaustion. 

"Yeji." A stern voice silences the crowd. 

"I don't think words can describe how disappointed and _appalled_ I am right now. What were you thinking running out into the lake like that? Not only did you endanger yourself, but you also endangered everyone else who had to save you!" Mr. Li jostles his way to the front of the circle.

"Y-You see..." Yeji stammers.

"Well? I'm waiting," presses Mr. Li.

"I was getting hit really hard with snowballs and I freaked out. I felt like I was going to get knocked out if I got hit with any more, so I ran out there to escape. That was foolish for me to do, and I have no excuses. I'm sorry." finishes Yeji, head hanging low in shame.

Mr. Li lets out a deep sigh and checks his watch. "We've already fallen behind our schedule, but we can still finish out the last of our activities. Consider yourselves lucky that I'm not sending you all home early."

...

_Hnghhhhh..... Hnghhhhhhhhh..._

The day had already ended on a depressing note, and the last thing Edea wanted to do to spend the last night of retreat was being put at the mercy of listening to her roommate's snoring for hours on end, helplessly trying to catch just a wink of sleep.

[1:27 AM]: **Amajohn:** Hey, ik you're mad at mark rn and maybe me as well but the question I asked rly didn't have bad intentions. You might not believe me but I just wanted to let you know

Edea stares at the message Johnny sent her last night again. She cringes as her roommate's snoring cycle reaches its peak again. Edea plugs in her earphones and puts on her "Study" playlist, but even with her music at maximum volume she still can't block out the sound of her roommate's snoring. At the same time, Edea can't stop thinking about Mark's hurt expression during their little fight at the elevator the night before when she mentioned him getting kicked out of the drama department, and how just moments before he had looked so sincere but she chose to ignore it. For as long as she has known Mark, he has always worn his heart on his sleeve. Edea sighs and recalls the snowball fight earlier in which Mark was stoic to her - something that she can't recall ever seeing before.

"Apologizing is _not_ in my vocabulary though...." Edea mumbles to herself.

She ponders if keeping her pride is worth losing her best friend. She has always been the type to argue for argument's sake, but thinking about it now makes her realize that knowing the contents of some dumb question for a stupid game is _probably_ not worth losing your best friend. Edea pulls up Mark's texts and begins typing something before stopping herself.

"Well it'd be pretty fucking embarrassing if he doesn't answer." Edea says to herself.

She deletes the message she was typing initially and hovers her finger over the call button. After contemplating it for another minute, she presses it and bites her lip as the line rings. She's about to hang up after the third ring, but the line on the other end picks up.

"Hello?" Edea hears Mark's familiar voice on the other end.

"Oh good...you're still up. I'm coming over right now." With a tone of finality, Edea ends the call without waiting for a response.

She takes out her earphones and leaves them on the nightstand as she reaches under the bed for her flip-flops. Grabbing her key card and phone, she exits her room and leaves her abominable snoring roommate behind before she can change her mind. Edea may be risking getting kicked out of the music program, but she refuses to have another sleepless night and be stuck in her head with her own unsolved thoughts from dusk til dawn. She chuckles dryly to herself, thinking about the worst case scenario: getting caught red-handed by Mr. Li or the chaperones because Mark refuses to let her in out of anger.

_BONK_

Edea's head collides with something and she hears a yelp. Snapping out of her thoughts, Edea bounces back to see who she has bumped into and recognizes Chaeryeong. She realizes she bumped into her shoulder in her one-track mind power walk to the elevator.

"Where are you going at this hour?" The two girls chime in unison.

"Ah... I couldn't sleep so I was just gonna walk rounds on this floor until I tire myself out." Edea shrugs nonchalantly after a moment of silence.

Chaeryeong nods, accepting the lie without a second thought and responds,

"I was going to go see your brother."

Edea's eyes widen and she struggles to hold back her laughter.

"Oh, in that case... I can probably help you with that." She says.

The two of them reach the elevator and get on without getting interrupted. Neither of them talk as the elevator takes them to the boys' floor. Edea motions for Chaeryeong to step away from the center so they won't be seen in case there is anyone waiting in front of the elevator. Once the doors open, Chaeryeong lets out a sigh of relief upon seeing that the hallway is empty. Edea and Chaeryeong step out of the elevator and start walking until-

_Ding!_

The _other_ elevator chimes behind them, signifying someone's arrival.

Edea dives behind the first potted plant to their right, pulling Chaeryeong with her. She lets Chaeryeong move more inward, for Chaeryeong's taller physique called for more area to cover. Edea holds her breath as she waits for the people in the elevator to step out. Initially, all she hears is footsteps until the all too familiar sound of a chip bag being opened is followed by chaotic laughter.

"Eat it!"

Edea lets out a sigh of relief and peeks her head out to see the two figures she expected to see as soon as she recognized the voices. Just then, she notices a small square object lying a few feet in front of her.

...

"Yo dude, I think I lost my wallet!" Mark exclaims as he does a 360, scouring the floor as anxiety starts to build up inside him.

"Tough luck, dude. Do you wanna go back to the elevator?" Johnny suggests.

"No dude, I swear I dropped it just now when I opened the chips-"

"Hey loser, you dropped this." An all too familiar voice calls out behind them.

Mark and Johnny turn around to see two female figures step out from behind the potted plant near the elevator. Edea steps forward, her long, straight black hair still slightly damp, wearing a loose t-shirt and pajama shorts. She tosses the object in her hand straight at Mark. Mark catches it reflexively with one hand and realizes it's his wallet. Relief washing over him, he laughs,

"Oh you meant you were coming right _now_ right now? Good thing I bought extra snacks just in case!"

Suddenly, the girl behind Edea steps out and shushes him. Mark immediately recognizes her as Chaeryeong, the girl who frequently visits Y/N during sectionals.

"What the- what are you two doing here?" Johnny exclaims.

"Chaeryeong has a dick appointment." Edea says with a smirk.

As Chaeryeong sputters trying to come up with a response, Edea kneels over to pick up the chips Mark dropped. Mark immediately follows suit, having forgotten about the mess he made when Edea interrupted. Mark's hand accidentally bumps into Edea's as they reached for the same chip on the floor and he notices the way her hand tensed up. They both say nothing and the other two help clean up the mess to pick up the pace.

"Hey Mark, do you know where Y/N's room is?" Chaeryeong asks bashfully, breaking the silence.

Mark perks up and answers, "Yeah haha, I can take you there if you want."

Chaeryeong's eyes light up and she exclaims, "That'd be great, thank you so much!"

"I gotchu, don't sweat it." Mark responds nonchalantly. 

...

Edea follows Johnny back to his and Mark's room while Mark walks Chaeryeong to Y/N's. Johnny closes the door behind him, sticking his left foot between the door and slipping out of his single Adidas slide, using it as a doorstopper so Mark can enter easily when he returns. Edea watches him silently until he turns around to face her and gives her a questioning look. Edea raises her hands defensively and explains,

"I thought about what you said, so here I am."

"You thought about what I said...and thought to answer by risking getting all of us in trouble?? Edea-" Johnny starts.

"No, hear me out. I wanted to sort this out in person, and before you ask why can't I wait until morning, my roommate snores like she's sawing logs and I can't bear another sleepless night and _maybe_ it's a little selfish but whatever happens I'll make sure it's only on me-"

"You know what, it's chill. You don't have to explain yourself. Don't worry about it."

Edea clams up and the two of them stare at each other in silence for a few seconds before Edea speaks up again.

"So which bed is Mark's?"

"That one." Johnny points and Edea immediately kicks off her slippers and climbs onto it, lying down and making herself at home. Johnny laughs as he hears the front door close and sees Mark coming in at the same time to see all of this unfolding in front of him. Mark's jaw drops and he points at Edea accusingly while complaining to Johnny,

"Do you see what she's doing right now?"

"Yep." Johnny answers without looking up from his phone.

Edea, still slightly shocked that Mark has returned to his old self as if the events of last night never happened, decides to roll with it. She pulls the pillow out from behind her to cover her face and she says,

"My roommate snores. I couldn't fucking sleep last night because my roommate snores abominably and you know how light of a sleeper I am. Can I please stay over?"

Edea finds herself bracing herself for a "no", even though Mark was acting like his usual self now, unlike how he was at all during the snowball fight. Guilty conscience, she supposes. She doesn't hear an answer from Mark, but she feels him sit beside her on the bed.

"I mean, yeah of course." Edea hears Mark say beside her, and all of a sudden, light floods her vision as the pillow she's using to cover her face is yanked out of her grasp.

"Dude, what are you trying to do, suffocate yourself?" Mark asks in disbelief and Edea pushes him.

"Look, this isn't my thing, but I'm just gonna say it. I'm sorry for last night, okay? I made it a bigger deal than it actually was. In front of everyone too...." Edea apologizes and wrestles the pillow out of Mark's hands in the process, smacking him with it.

"Ow, ow, _okay_! Why are you hitting _me_ though?" Mark sputters.

Edea stops and finally looks at Mark. He's in his pajamas: a thin, dark gray long-sleeved shirt paired with thin corduroy pants of the same color. His black, thick framed glasses are slightly askew due to the impact of the pillow when Edea hit him.

"Are we good then?" She asks, finally bringing herself to look him in the eyes.

"For sure. I probably shouldn't have said what I said at the elevators too, so yeah." Mark answers while rubbing the back of his head sheepishly.

"Awww, look we're all best friends now. _So sweeeet_." Johnny interrupts.

Edea hurls the pillow over to the adjacent bed and hits Johnny square in the face.

" _Ow_!" He exclaims, sending Mark into a fit of laughter.

"Hey, let's play a round of cards. I didn't buy all these snacks and almost lose my wallet for us to not stuff ourselves tonight." Mark proposes.

Edea grins and says, "You're on." 


	8. Rendezvous

[11:20 PM] **chae** : These band kids aren't going to shut up, are they? Since my mom's already asleep, and given how heavy of a sleeper she is, there's nobody at this point who'll force them to stop... just my luck.

[11:20 PM] **you** : we're playing Mario Kart right now, you could join us if you want 😜

[11:21 PM] **chae** : lmaooo alright bet

[11:21 PM] **you** : haha fr? 

[11:21 PM] **chae** : yeah, bet. wait, aren't you scared of getting in trouble with Mr. Li? 

[11:22 PM] **you** : I trust that you're not purposely trying to sabotage me 🤧 it'll be fine LMAO

[11:23 PM] **chae** : Omg then can I stay over? Pretty please? I'm not about to go a third night in a row not getting any sleep...

[11:23 PM] **you** : Sure, but you're gonna sleep on the floor 🤭

"So how much longer are we going to play Rainbow Road?" you complain, setting down your phone. This was the fourth match in a row you had gotten last place. 

"Until you admit that I'm simply better than you at Mario Kart," Justin grins. 

" _Never._ "you persist. "Run that shit back." 

_Knock. Knock._

Someone knocks on your door, causing you and Justin to exchange glances. 

"Who's visiting us at this hour?" Justin wonders aloud. "We're not in trouble, are we?"

Justin reaches the door first and takes a look through the peephole. Looking back at you, he makes a puzzled expression before opening the door, revealing Mark in his pajamas.

"Oh hi, Mark! What brings you here at this hour?" you greet.

Before Mark can say anything, Chaeryeong pops her head out from behind Mark and flashes you an eyesmile before fully stepping out, wearing an oversized t-shirt and athletic shorts.

"안녕! (Hello!)" Chaeryeong greets.

Your eyes widen. "I guess you really weren't joking," you respond.

"We bumped into each other in the hallway and she said she was looking for you, so I brought her over." explains Mark. 

"Thanks, Mark." you say.

"Try not to have too much fun, all right?" Mark smirks. 

"Yo, do you want to stay for a bit and play the Nintendo Switch with us?" Justin asks as Mark turns around to leave. 

"Nah, I think I'm good," says Mark. "I appreciate the offer though. Night, yall." 

"That's weird, no guy I've ever asked has turned down a chance to play the Switch," Justin muses once the door closes.

"Right, how did you even end up with Mark in the first place?" you ask Chaeryeong, feeling a hot pang of jealousy. You pause for a moment to catch yourself; there's no reason for you to feel this way. 

"Oh, I actually ran into your sister before we bumped into Mark and Johnny together. Since Mark recognized me, I asked him to show me where your room was," she explains.

"What the fuck is my _sister_ doing out?" you ask incredulously.

"Beats me," Chaeryeong shrugs. "Though I did see her go into Mark and Johnny's room before I was brought here."

"So THAT'S why he didn't want to play the Switch," Justin declares, having an epiphany.

"I thought they were fighting? Did they just make up that quickly?" you wonder.

"Well perhaps they're gonna make up... by making out," Justin laughs at his own joke.

"Aw dude, I don't want that image in my head," you protest, bringing your hands up to your temples. 

Chaeryeong makes a quick scan of her surroundings before squealing in joy. "Oh my god, how did you know I've been craving these?" she asks, picking a bag of chocolate chip cookies from your snack pile and ripping it open. 

"Hey if you're gonna do that, you could at least share," says Justin.

If looks could kill, the one Chaeryeong gave Justin in response definitely would have.

"O-Or not," Justin stutters, sending you and Chaeryeong into a fit of laughter.

"Chill out, I'm just kidding." Chaeryeong invites Justin over, who shyly takes a cookie.

"Hey, do you wanna take over my spot in Mario Kart? I'm tired of getting completely destroyed," you say.

"Ah, I'm not too great at these games, but I'll give it a shot," responds Chaeryeong, taking your controller and seating herself on the floor. "You're not going to make me stay here all night, are you?" Chaeryeong pouts cutely, gesturing at her position.

"Of course not," you scoff. You weren't planning on giving Chaeryeong "no" for an answer, but certainly not now that she was pouting at you like that. You hesitate before patting the space next to you. "Come up, there's room for two." 

...

After a competitive round of Mario Kart that saw Chaeryeong performing way better than you expected, the night starts to wind down with you, Justin, and Chaeryeong catching up on your home lives and recounting funny stories from your childhoods. Upon Justin's departure to crash on the pull-out couch in the other room, silence falls as you and Chaeryeong are left alone on your bed. The two of you feel a sense of bliss staring at the ceiling without a single worry in the world, relishing the sensation of the AC's cool draft sweeping over your tired bodies. 

Chaeryeong is the first to break the silence. "I think it's really sweet how well everyone in orchestra and band seem to get along no matter what the age gap. Even as a bystander, I felt like I was one of you guys."

You take a second to let the comment sink in. "Aww, is it not like that in tennis?" you ask, turning over to your side to face her. 

Chaeryeong shakes her head. "It's not too friendly of a place for new people. They're nice and all, but all the returning people stick to their own cliques and leave everyone else to fend for themselves. I can't imagine how I'd survive without you and the others."

You smile apologetically. "I'll always be here for you, Chaeryeong. I'm not going anywhere."

"Thank you... that really means a lot." Chaeryeong responds, returning your smile. "You're amazing, you know that? Especially today."

You chuckle, genuinely flattered by her compliment. "How much of that did you see?" you ask. 

"Hmm..." Chaeryeong thinks. "I was pretty much right there with everyone else when things first went south. In case you're feeling sorry, I think you had every right to blow up. It was infuriating to see so many people just standing by and watching. Finding such a long piece of rope was definitely not an easy task for me and Edea alone."

"You did great, Chaeryeong." you say.

"Agh..." you wince, clutching your shoulder. The aftereffects of all your physical exertion today have finally caught up to you.

"Turn around." Chaeryeong orders, her innocent features narrowing into a stern gaze. 

You obey, submitting yourself to Chaeryeong's dexterous fingers to massage and work your tense muscles. 

"Is this helping?" she asks, with concern in her voice.

"Yeah... a lot. I don't even feel it anymore." you respond, your back arching in contentment. 

"That's good."

Feeling your eyelids grow heavy, you excuse yourself to move over to the other bed and reach forward to turn off the lamp. As you're doing so, you realize that you've forgotten something important.

"Wait, let's talk about how you're going to leave tomorrow without getting caught."

...

_Bzzt bzzt_

Edea awakens to the buzzing from her soundless alarm. She must have fallen asleep at some point last night without realizing it. She remembers her and Johnny beating Mark at poker by a landslide before lying in bed and listening to Mark play his guitar. Edea squints at her phone screen, the brightness too much for her sleep filled eyes at the moment. It's 8:01 AM. Edea thinks about sleeping in some more since their call time is at 10AM today, but decides against it because the earlier she goes back, the less likely it is for her to get caught. Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, she looks over at the adjacent bed and sees Mark and Johnny as two big lumps under the covers, still sound asleep. Careful not to wake them, she quietly gets off the bed and puts on her flip-flops. Making sure she's gotten everything, she texts Chaeryeong.

[8:05 AM] **you:** Hey, we gotta bounce. I'll meet you at the spot we were at last night by the elevator in 5 minutes. If you're not there, I have to leave without you.

Not expecting a reply, Edea locks her phone only for it to vibrate two seconds later indicating she has a new message.

[8:06 AM] **Chaeryeong:** Sure thing! I'll see you soon :)

Edea raises an eyebrow at Chaeryeong's enthusiasm before shrugging and heading for the door. Right as she puts her hand on the handle, the lights turn on.

"Whoa, you're really just gonna leave without saying anything?"

Edea turns around to see Mark standing before her with his arms crossed, looking at her incredulously. There was a tinge of hurt in his voice.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you guys." Edea answers softly.

"A text would've been nice." Mark says while gesturing to Edea's phone.

"I was going to after I made it back-"

"Relax, I'm kidding." Mark flashes a smile and Edea can't help but smile in return.

"But yeah, I'm leaving right now so it'll be easier to not get caught. You've still got some time. Get a few more hours of sleep." Edea suggests.

"Are you sure you don't want me to come with you?" Mark asks with a concerned expression.

Suddenly, Edea hears a loud groan from behind Mark, clearly Johnny rousing from his slumber. Edea and Mark both chuckle at that as Johnny calls over,

"Yeah, we can definitely come with you."

"And have your tall ass sticking out like a sore thumb? No thanks." Edea scoffs.

" _Rude_." Johnny answers in a feigned hurt tone.

"I mean, _I'm_ not as tall as Johnnyㅡ"

"Dude, I'll be _fine_. Besides, I don't want to risk putting you guys in trouble any more than I already have." Edea cuts Mark off whilst ruffling his bedhead.

Mark swats Edea's hand away in protest and finally stops trying to convince her. Edea turns around to leave again, but stops again before turning around and pulling a surprised Mark into a hug. She stands on her toes to rest her chin on his shoulder.

"E-Edea??" Mark sputters.

" _Don't_ get used to this, but this is just a thank you for letting me stay last night despite everything." Edea states.

Edea feels warmth spread across her back as Mark brings his arms up to return her embrace, albeit slowly and a bit awkwardly.

Johnny suddenly marches over and protests, "Hey! What about me?? I also risked my life over here."

Edea laughs and says, "Fine, you too."

She pulls away from Mark to give Johnny a hug, to which Johnny has to bend over so Edea doesn't break her toes. Whilst pulling away, Edea says,

"Between you and me, I like you the best in our section."

"Oooh, I don't think Joe is gonna like that. Willis would throw a fit." Johnny whistles.

Edea chuckles and says, "Okay guys, I really have to go now. I told Chaeryeong I was gonna meet her like five minutes ago."

"Bye honey, have fun at school!" Johnny says in a high pitched tone, earning him a jab and laughter from Mark.

"Sure, Mom." Edea replies with a smile whilst rolling her eyes.

Edea opens the door and finally exits Mark and Johnny's room. Before the door closes behind her, she hears Johnny sniffling while saying, "They grow up so fast."

...

At the sound of her alarm, Chaeryeong awakes from her restful slumber, extending her limbs as far as they can reach. The smell of instant coffee tickles her nose, indicating Y/N's presence in the adjacent room. Retrieving her phone from the nightstand, Chaeryeong sends a text to her mom, assuring her that she had gotten up early to get breakfast and that she would return. Chaeryeong had made sure to wake up hours before the expected call time so that she could escape back to her room while everyone was hopefully still asleep. Meanwhile, Y/N paces back and forth anxiously with his cup of coffee.

"What's up?" Chaeryeong asks.

"I don't know..." answers Y/N. "You should be able to leave without any problems, but the fact that you're going by yourself worries me."

_Ding!_

At that moment, Chaeryeong receives a text from Edea.

[8:05 AM] **Edea:** Hey, we gotta bounce. I'll meet you at the spot we were at last night by the elevator in 5 minutes. If you're not there, I have to leave without you.

"Who ever said I had to go alone?" Chaeryeong smirks, showing Y/N her phone screen before sending a reply.

[8:06 AM] **you:** Sure thing! I'll see you soon :)

Chaeryeong giggles. "You worry too much, Y/N. I'll be fine! Is all this really coming from the guy who got onto a frozen lake on all fours to rescue a drowning friend?"

"I guess you have a point," Y/N responds, joining Chaeryeong in laughter.

Gathering the last of her belongings, Chaeryeong stands by the door as Y/N scans the hallways for threats. 

"Okay, the coast is clear," Y/N declares. "I'll see you in a couple of-"

Before Y/N can finish his sentence, Chaeryeong pulls him into an embrace. After a few moments, Chaeryeong feels Y/N's arms wrap around her torso, sending an impulse of warmth down her spine. 

"Thank you. For everything." Chaeryeong says.

When they finally separate, Y/N nods in affirmation, his bold, black eyes holding all the understanding in the world.


	9. Takeoff

As expected, the hallway is empty, but so much to the point of it being eerily quiet as Edea cautiously makes her way towards the designated meeting spot. Once she reaches the elevator, she spots Chaeryeong, who is anxiously checking her phone. 

"Sorry I'm late, I had something to take care of," Edea apologizes.

Chaeryeong perks up at Edea's arrival, appearing visibly relieved. 

"Thank goodness," Chaeryeong responds. "I thought you'd left without me."

"Thank _you_ for waiting for me." Edea smiles.

"So... I've been kind of worried about you since the other day when we played Paranoia. Are things better between you and Mark now?" asks Chaeryeong hesitantly.

Edea laughs and responds, "Why would _you_ worry about me? I totally ruined the mood for the game. Looking back on it though, it's pretty funny." 

Chaeryeong chuckles nervously in response and says, "Well... you seemed pretty upset. Mark looked worried about you too." 

Edea's face flushes slightly as she asks, "Oh...is that what it looked like?" 

"Yeah, but I don't think everyone was able to tell. Well other than the fact that you were mad, but-" Chaeryeong starts.

"Well, we're good now. Did you get what you came for last night?" Edea interrupts. 

"Yeah! I got a good night's rest for the first time since the start of retreat since I was able to get away from my noisy neighbors." 

"Ah, that's good to hear. My brother give you any trouble?" 

"No, if anything I was probably the one giving him trouble." Chaeryeong laughs sheepishly, brushing her long hair behind her ears.

Edea and Chaeryeong step into the elevator together after checking that the coast is clear once more. Edea presses the button to the girls' floor and hits the button to hastily close the elevator doors. As the elevator descends, Chaeryeong decides to break the silence.

"Hey, do you want to grab breakfast with me?" 

"Uh...we'll see. I actually haven't finished packing my things yet so I'm not sure how long that will take. I'll let you know, though." Edea answers.

"Oh, right! Thanks for reminding me. I still have a few things to pack as well." 

The elevator reaches the girls' floor and the doors open to reveal Yeji and Ryujin standing before them. Chaeryeong's face lights up upon seeing them and she exclaims,

"Hi guys! What are you doing up so early?" 

Ryujin raises an eyebrow, looking at the unlikely duo and replies, "Morning workout. What about you guys? Did you guys just come from upstairs?" 

"Oh yeah, we heard the vending machines had better snack selections on the upper floors." Chaeryeong lies, avoiding eye contact.

"Yeah, and that was a completely baseless rumor so we're the fools." Edea adds and slips out of the elevator. 

"Glad to see that you're doing better, Yeji!" Edea says before leaving the three girls.

...

As soon as Edea enters her room, she is welcomed by the sound of snoring. Rolling her eyes, Edea pulls out her suitcase from under the bed and retrieves her earphones from the nightstand where she had left them the night before. After changing into a slim, plain white tee and tucking it into a pair of black distressed skinny jeans, she throws on a black, padded leather jacket. While grabbing her shower supplies out of the bathroom, she takes the opportunity to take a glance at the mirror and puts on a pair of silver hoop earrings. Setting aside her black fur boots to wear later, she packs the rest of the shoes she brought into her suitcase. Unable to listen to the sound of her roommate snoring anymore, Edea plugs in her earphones and puts on her "bops" playlist to the maximum volume. Halfway through packing, Edea realizes her space utilization is off and doesn't have enough room to fit the rest of her things. Cursing under her breath, she checks her phone for the time and realizes that it's already past 8:30. Right as Edea is about to put her phone down and continue packing, her phone lights up, revealing a new message.

[8:37 AM] **M🤢RK:** you good?

[8:37 AM] **you:** No, I've been caught by mr li and he's holding me captive in a dungeon under the hotel 😩😩

[8:38 AM] **M🤢RK: 😒😒😒**

[8:38 AM] **you:** jk im skipping breakfast cause I need more time to pack than I thought 😅😅

[8:39 AM] **M🤢RK:** why am I not surprised...

[8:40 AM] **M🤢RK:** u want me to grab something for u?

[8:45 AM] **you:** psh wat r u gonna do, stuff an omelette in your pocket? 😂

[8:46 AM] **M🤢RK:** fine, starve then 🙄

[8:49 AM] **you:** actually can u sneak me like 2 hashbrowns 🙏🙏🙏

[8:53 AM] **M🤢RK:** oh so NOW u wanna drop the attitude

[8:55 AM] **you:** im TRYING to pack and you're DISTRACTING me

[9:00 AM] **M🤢RK:** mb, 2 hashbrowns it is 👍

[9:01 AM] **you:** tyyyyy

Edea finally puts her phone down after only packing two items since her texts with Mark. All of sudden, she hears her roommate's alarm going off _through_ her music. 

"What the _fuck_ ," Edea curses aloud. 

After three or more so repetitions of the alarm, her roommate finally wakes up. 

"Oh, you're up already." She greets Edea.

"Yup." Edea responds dryly and continues packing.

...

Mark puts his phone back into his pocket and says, "She says she wants two hashbrowns." 

"Well don't look at me, she asked _you_." Johnny responds. 

"You're in her section, though." 

"Yeah but...she asked _you_."

"Can you keep one in your bag for me though? I don't want my whole bag smelling like fried potatoes."

"Well if you're already putting one in there, what's one more?" 

"Okay, fine. Whatever." 

"Besides, I'm stashing instant coffee in my bag. I don't have room for everything." 

Mark laughs and says, "Wait, you were serious??" 

Johnny opens up his bag and moves his jacket, revealing a sizable stash of instant coffee mix. Mark starts laughing hysterically at the sight and Johnny quickly zips up his bag as the elevator comes to a halt and the doors open. 

"Good morning, boys." Mr Li greets Mark and Johnny as they step out of the elevator while Mr Li gets on. 

"Hi, Mr Li," Mark and Johnny reply in unison.

"Have a good breakfast! Remember, we're meeting at the lobby at 10:00 AM." Mr Li reminds them as the elevator doors close. 

Johnny and Mark make their way to the buffet and grab heaping amounts of hot breakfast food before settling at an empty table. They had managed to beat the rush of people who decided to come down for breakfast at the same time. All of a sudden, Johnny starts laughing.

"What?" Mark asks, surprised at Johnny's sudden outburst.

"Edea must've been out of her mind this morning." Johnny comments.

"Uh...what do you mean?" 

"Mark, I was literally there when everything happened. You weren't subtle when you got out of the bed." 

"I mean, she just left early cause she had to." Mark shrugs and takes a sip of his orange juice.

"...Did you forget she also hugged you before she left?" 

Mark chokes on his orange juice and starts having a coughing fit. Johnny pats him on the back until he regains his composure before continuing,

"I mean, she hugged me too but I don't think I've _ever_ seen her like that before. Has she ever hugged you before? Actually have you seen her hugging _anyone_ before?" 

"I mean...no. I guess it was kinda weird, but what's your point?" Mark responds.

"I just thought it was funny." Johnny shrugs. 

"Maybe she was just thankful for our hospitality and she wanted to show it." 

"Yeah... _or_ she felt really bad for blowing up at you the other night and she likes you more than she lets on." 

"Whoa whoa whoa, what are you trying to say?" 

"Nothing. I'm just saying based on my knowledge of a semester's worth of AP psych, she fits a certain type of personality that I've learned about." Johnny says with a smirk. 

"Yo, shut up. Her brother is coming this way." Mark elbows Johnny and smiles at Y/N as he approaches them with Justin. 

"Hey dude, how'd your night go? I'm assuming your friend got back okay?" Mark starts.

"Yeah, it was nice. Chaeryeong's fine, she left with Edea." Y/N answers.

"Do you mind if we chill here for a bit while we wait for the line to dwindle?" Justin asks.

"Not at all, go for it." Johnny replies. 

"Wait, I don't mean to be nosy or anything, but what did my sister want from you?" Y/N asks. 

Johnny and Justin snicker as Mark seems to be at a loss. 

"Well, uh..."

Justin gasps dramatically and says, "Don't tell me-" 

"No!" Mark cuts Justin off before he can suggest anything and Johnny almost doubles over in laughter.

"I guess you all must be aware that we weren't on good terms after Paranoia the other night. She just came to apologize, that's all." Mark explains.

"At 1 in the morning?!" Justin exclaims.

"I mean, yeah..." Mark acknowledges.

"No yeah, she just came to apologize and then we just played cards and went to bed. It's not like we were gonna send her back at _three_ in the morning." Johnny interjects, saving Mark from digging himself into a hole. 

"Couldn't she just...text you?" Y/N asks. 

Mark raises his hands defensively. "Don't ask me, ask your sister! She just called me and said she was gonna come over and then _actually_ came over. Didn't Chaeryeong do the same thing to you?" 

"Okay, fair point. I just thought it was weird she couldn't wait until morning to tell you or something." Y/N explains.

"Dude, me too." Johnny chimes in.

"Anyways, can we not talk about this anymore?" Mark asks, desperate to change the subject. 

"Y/N just wants to know because he was _ecstatic_ when Chaeryeong came over on such short notice to see him-" Justin starts before earning a firm jab on the shoulder from Y/N.

"Wait, what?!" Mark starts laughing.

"I guess girls are just crazy." Johnny shrugs. 

Seeing the buffet line finally dwindle down, Y/N and Justin excuse themselves to get food. Realizing that they were starting to run late upon the freshmen's return, the boys halt further conversation and redirect their focus on wrapping up their breakfasts.

"We'll see you guys at the front!" calls Mark, accompanying Johnny for one last trip to the buffet to acquire Edea's hashbrowns like he promised. They make it back to the hotel lobby just in time where the orchestra and band students have already congregated.

"...I'm very happy that you all enjoyed your last night, but I swear to god, I could hear some of yall laughing clear as day at 1 in the morning!" Mr. Li is saying, as Mark hastily zips up his bag.

Johnny slaps Mark on the shoulder with the back of his hand. "Mark, I think he's talking about you," he teases. 

"Hey! I didn't mean to; you were the one making me laugh!" Mark whispers back.

"...Lastly, I want to thank you all for coming on this trip. For putting up with me when I yelled at you guys, for being patient whenever things didn't go as planned, for not hesitating to lend a hand to help out your peers..." Mr. Li pauses, shifting his eyes in Johnny's and then Y/N's direction. 

"And most importantly, for having fun. Seeing you all have a great time made all the stress, anguish, and the headaches worth it." Mr. Li finishes as the students break into emphatic applause.

Right on cue, the buses arrive to take everyone home. Mark and Johnny take the initiative to seat themselves on a bus first, seeing as Johnny wanted a quiet space to take a nap. The two settle down in a spot near the back of the bus before Mark takes a look inside his bag.

"Ahahaha..." Mark laughs nervously. "Edea's not going to like this," he says, inviting Johnny to look inside. One of the two hashbrowns managed to get squashed being jostled around in Mark's backpack and the buildup of moisture spoiling the overall texture all the while.

At that moment, Edea walks over and plops down in the seat directly in front of Mark and Johnny's. As she does so, she places her bag in the seat adjacent to hers as she scoots over to the window.

"Smells like you got the goods," Edea says matter of factly. "Let's see what you got."

"Yeah, show her!" Johnny exclaims as he tries to contain a smile. 

"Well, I tried my best so here they are." Mark says whilst taking out the two (now moist) hashbrowns from his backpack. 

Edea scrunches her nose at the sight of the room temperature hashbrowns, especially the squashed one. 

"Did you step on this one or something?" She asks.

"No! I swear it never left my bag; it somehow just turned out like that." Mark defends himself.

Edea snickers and takes the hashbrowns despite her visible disapproval of them.

"Thanks for trying." Edea cracks a small smile, turning back to face the front.

Slightly taken aback by Edea's sudden lack of cheek, Mark turns his attention back to the people boarding the bus. 

"Ayyy, what's up, guys? Long time no see!" greets Y/N, taking the seat across from Mark and Johnny's along with Justin. 

"Why are you _always_ following me around?" Edea asks scathingly to her brother.

"I'm not following _you_ around, I'm trying to have some quality time with my _cool_ section mate."

"Wow, did you hear that?" Mark interjects. "He said I'm his _cool_ section mate." 

"His opinion doesn't matter." Edea dismisses.

"Dangggg," Mark audibly sucks in air through his teeth disbelievingly.

"Don't listen to her, Mark. You're a cool kid." 

"Says the freshman." Edea retorts.

Y/N rolls his eyes and turns back to his friends. At this point, the bus sets into motion and the driver bumps up the radio, leading many to sing along to the pop songs. Capitalizing on the bus's high energy level, Justin climbs onto his seat before shouting.

"Yo guys, how about we play another game of paranoia?"

"NO!" Everyone replies in unison.


	10. Striking a Chord

After the bus has been on the road for quite some time, everyone starts getting lulled to sleep. As per Johnny's request, Mark relocates to the seat next to Edea's so that Johnny has extra room to stretch out his long frame during his nap. Edea moves her bag onto her lap and asks,

"Did Johnny not sleep well last night?" 

"Probably not as well as the night before. He said I move around in my sleep too much, haha." Mark answers sheepishly. 

"Oh, my bad. I fell asleep last night without realizing it. You guys didn't _have_ to squish together. I was planning on just taking the pullout couch." Edea explains.

"Oh shit there was a pullout couch? I didn't even know!" Mark laughs.

Mark's contagious laughter leads Edea to smile in return. 

"Did _you_ sleep well though?" Mark asks, his eyes wide with curiosity.

"Yeah, actually. I slept well for the first time in a while, which was kind of surprising." Edea chuckles. 

"Glad to hear it. I was kinda worried you'd be uncomfortable being the only girl in a room full of guys." 

"It's just you guys...I wasn't worried. Having you guys around actually made me more comfortable." Edea smiles. 

"Wow, that must be why you're in an _awfully_ good mood today. Should I be worried?" Mark teases, and Edea elbows him in the ribs in return.

"Ow! Annnnnd she's back." Mark winces. 

Edea dismisses Mark's comment and looks out the window pensively. 

"I've just been thinking." Edea explains.

"About what?" 

Edea watches a mom play with her kid on a playground as the bus crosses an overpass in the process of switching freeways.

"The future. We're gonna graduate next year, and I've been wondering if my dream is my own or if I'm just trying to impress my parents. Not to mention I have no idea if I'll even be able to make friends in college based off of how badly things have gone for me in high school up until this point. You, Johnny, and Lia are all I have." 

"Well first of all, you have an idea of where you want to head. That's good. Whether or not it's something you still want to do once you've tried it out is something you'll have to decide later after you've already gotten a feel for it. I don't think wanting to impress your parents is a bad thing, but either way, I think you'll make a great lawyer." 

Edea abruptly turns her head to face Mark, taken aback by his sudden earnestness.

Mark returns her gaze and smiles, "I mean it. You don't need me to tell you to already know you're good at arguing; you shut people up before they even have a chance to talk." 

Edea searches Mark's eyes for any sign of humor or jest, but she finds none. She sighs and responds,

"If I'm being honest, I kind of have doubts on whether I can actually make it that far. I have random bursts of confidence, it's not consistent. If I'm gonna be a lawyer, I actually have to be confident in myself all the time. I can't ever waver or else it's over. I'm not sure...I can do that." 

"I'm sure you've convinced everyone at this school you're confident _and_ capable." 

"Sure, but I'm far from convincing _myself_. I have this _reputation_ at school and at home as well, but deep down I don't think I live up to it." Edea shrugs. 

Mark shakes his head and says, "No, you live up to it. Imma be real, the reason why you don't have a lot of friends is because you seem unapproachable from the outside. People see you and think you're in a different class than them; too high for them to reach. Plus, it doesn't really help that you have a poker face and wear black from top to bottom almost all the time. It wouldn't hurt to smile more."

Edea scowls but doesn't protest. She tears her gaze away from Mark and stares out the window again, not wanting him to see her expression. 

"You know I'm right." Edea hears Mark say next to her.

"I'm barely 5'2". Who the hell am I scaring?" Edea scoffs.

"You know what they say about short people-"

" _Don't_ finish that statement. Either way, I can't help that this is the way I am. It's my _personality_. Am I supposed to change it?" 

"No. You shouldn't change the way you are to get people to like you. You're fine the way you are." 

"Also," Mark adds and taps Edea on the shoulder to get Edea to face him again. "You're not incapable of being friendly. Remember how we met freshmen year?" 

Edea stares at Mark and smirks as she recalls the first day of their freshman year which only seemed like yesterday.

***

 _The smell of old wood from the music room fills Edea's senses, building up anxiety inside her for reasons unknown. She figures this would be a smell that she would be getting used to really soon, considering she'll have to stay in this room for orchestra next period and for the rest of her years in high school. She's also aware of the infamous musical season that orchestra is a big part of, so she_ knows _she'll be spending hours on end in this very room._

" _Edea, right?" The girl sitting to her left who introduced herself as Diana, asks, snapping Edea out of her thoughts._

_"Oh, yes!" Edea responds brightly._

_The guitar teacher had put them into small groups for the semester, and they were currently in the middle of getting to know each other. Surprisingly, Edea has been placed with three other upperclassmen._

 _"_ _How well can you play the guitar?" Diana asks._

_"Oh... I actually don't know how to play. I chose this class so I could learn. I know how to play piano and the drums though, so I'm hoping that experience can help me pick up the guitar quickly." Edea explains._

_"Wow, that's so cool! And you said you're a freshman?"_

_"Yeah, haha..." Edea confirms shyly._

_"I would never have thought.... You don't seem like one. I thought you were a junior too." Another person in the group, Julie, states._

_Just then, Edea notices someone come into the classroom, sweaty and out of breath. His shaggy black hair was plastered to his forehead with his own sweat and he looks to be apologizing to the teacher as she is lecturing him, most likely for coming in late. He hasn't even changed out of his P.E. clothes and is wearing mismatched socks. Edea supposes he must be having a rough day._

_"Now_ that _looks like a freshman." The last person in Edea's group, Andrew, snickers._

_"He has a baby face too." Diana points out._

_Just then, the guitar teacher brings the boy over to their group. Edea accidentally makes eye contact with the boy and looks away quickly, turning her attention to their guitar teacher who addresses them all._

_"You guys have a smaller group, so I'm going to add this_ tardy freshman _to your group. Introduce yourselves quickly, I'm going to bring everyone back together in a couple of minutes."_

_The whole group's attention turns to the boy in question, who's ears flush red from embarrassment._

_"H-Hi, I'm Mark. I'm a freshman, I guess.. like she said."_

_Julie grins and asks, "Do you know how to play the guitar, Mark?"_

_"Actually, yeah. My dad taught me how to play back when I still went to church with him, so I've been playing for a while now, haha." Mark responds shyly._

_"Wow, a professional! How come you're taking this class then?" Andrew asks._

_"Ah, I wanted more time to be able to play the guitar since I've been getting busier nowadays." Mark confesses, rubbing his arm awkwardly._

_"You should teach Edea how to play! She doesn't have any experience. Oh, and you're both freshmen too, aren't you?" Diana perks up._

_Edea speaks up at the mention of her name. "Right, I'd be grateful if you could give me some pointers! I'm Edea, by the way. Nice to meet you! I was afraid I'd be the only freshman here."_

_Mark grins and says, "Oh, nice! I've never taught anyone before, but I'll try my best to help!"_

***

"Why are you laughing?!" Mark complains. 

Edea giggles and responds, "You asked me to remember the first time we met, so I did." 

"It wasn't _that_ funny." Mark pouts.

"Oh come on, you burst into the classroom all sweaty and in your _P.E. clothes_. You got called out for being a freshman by the teacher too." Edea points out.

"I shouldn't have brought this up..." Mark sighs.

"You're right, though. I'm capable of being friendly in a new environment, but it's mentally _exhausting_. I don't know how it just comes so naturally to you." 

"Everyone's different." Mark shrugs. 

"Speaking of the guitar, though...I haven't touched one since freshman year. And here I thought I could get good at it too...." Edea muses.

"You could've just asked to borrow mine if you wanted to practice."

"Please, I don't even practice with the drums." 

"You know... you can't just keep relying on natural talent if you want to get better." 

"I know, but...it's not a priority for me right now. I wish it could be, but-"

"No, I get it. School and everything. I mean, I guess it's fine since you're clearly still leagues above the percussionists in band _and_ orchestra at the moment, but I'm just saying if _they_ practice hard they'll eventually catch up to you. You never know, Johnny might decide to usurp you as section leader next semester." 

"He wouldn't _dare_." 

At that moment, the bus slows to a stop. Edea turns to look out the window again and sees the very high school she dreads going to every morning. Shocked at how time flew by, she turns to Mark and says,

"Dude, that was _fast._ " 

"I know, right?" Mark agrees whilst sliding out of the seat first so Edea can get out as well.

Edea peers over the seat behind her and reaches her arm over to shake Johnny out of his slumber.

"Johnny, wake up! We're here."

After getting a response from Johnny, Edea slides out of the seat after Mark. One by one, they slowly file out of the bus and wait in a line outside to grab their luggage. All of a sudden, Stephanie comes out of nowhere and grabs Mark's arm.

"Mark, do you think you can help me with my luggage? It's kind of heavy, so I can't get it out by myself." She whines. 

Edea shoots her a look and says, "Girl, my luggage is bigger than yours and I'm _shorter_ than you but I didn't have to ask anyone for help." 

"Yeah, well, you're a percussionist so you're _used_ to doing grunt work and carrying things." Stephanie retorts while pulling Mark towards her.

"Did I hear that right? You just said you're a spoiled little girl who can't do anything by herself because she never had to?" Edea bites back, raising her voice.

"Okayyyy, it's all good! Where is it, Stephanie? I'll just grab it real quick for you." Mark interrupts and follows after Stephanie to prevent the bickering from escalating any further. 

Edea wanders off heatedly only to find her own luggage buried in a mountain of other students' luggage. She musters all her strength to pull out her first suitcase and almost loses her balance in doing so before staring down her second suitcase that is buried at the bottom as well, trying to will it to come out on its own. Edea wipes her sweaty hands on her jeans and takes a deep breath as she wraps her hands over the suitcase handle and prepares to heave it out again. 

"I hate everyone..." She mutters under her breath as she tugs at her suitcase; trying to get it loose from all the other suitcases piling on top of it. Just as she manages to pull her suitcase out from under, the luggage above her starts to topple over.

"Shit," Edea curses as she braces for the onslaught of suitcases to fall on her, but all of a sudden, a pair of hands reaches out, stopping them from falling. 

"You know you could've asked for help, right?" Mark says from behind Edea. 

Edea turns around quickly, only to bump her head into Mark's chest. 

"Ow! A warning would've been nice!" Edea complains at his close proximity. 

Edea ducks under Mark's arm and Mark climbs onto the truck to push the rest of the luggage back into place. After making sure nothing was going to fall, Mark hops off the truck's platform and brushes off his hands.

"Sorry," Mark apologizes. 

"Thanks, though. That would've been a mess." Edea follows up, gesturing at the luggage that Mark stopped from toppling over.

"It's all good. You get all your stuff?" 

"Mhm... I should go find my brother now. I think my parents are already here." 

"Okay! I'll see you after break, then!" responds Mark.

Edea waves Mark goodbye and turns towards the crowd once again. A sudden breeze blows through, cleansing out the tiredness accumulated on the long bus ride, leaving Edea feeling refreshed. Before the start of the trip, Edea worried that she wouldn't have fun and that this whole trip would have just been a hassle, but as she filters through the now familiar faces in the crowd one by one, she realizes that she did have a good time. Whether she wanted to admit it or not, this was a trip to remember. Maybe things were finally looking up. 

"Edea!" 

The sound of her name being called snaps Edea out of her thoughts and she catches her brother waving to her in the dwindling crowd. 

"Dad parked on the other side, let's go!" Y/N beckons her over.

"Alright, be there in a sec!" Edea responds and starts heading in that direction, pulling her heavy luggage along with her in both hands.

High school only lasts so long; might as well make the most out of it. 


	11. An Unexpected Guest

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, with the exception of text messages, text denoted in bold will indicate the character speaking in *your* first/second language; if you are monolingual you can think of it as the tone or different/specific dialect you use to speak with your parents. 
> 
> Side note: Y/N and Edea know Korean on the side but their parents don't

After such an action-packed retreat, it felt quite alarming waking up on Thanksgiving Day realizing that that half of your week long break from school had already past. You sit on the edge of your bed absentmindedly, your brain unable to process not having to worry about missing a call time or sneaking a friend out of your room for a change. You flip on the TV and catch up on the MMA fights that happened last weekend. Seeing as the first fight was getting off to a painfully slow start, you leave the TV running in the background as you walk into the kitchen to pour yourself a glass of water. 

Meanwhile, your parents have gone out to buy stuffing and mashed potatoes with gravy to complement the turkey for tonight's dinner. Your stomach grumbles in anticipation for dinner as the omelette you had made for yourself was barely keeping you filled.

"Hey, Y/N! You want boba?" You hear Edea holler from the second floor as you are browsing the internet on your desktop computer in the living room.

"Uh, how are we gonna get boba? We're not allowed to leave the house in case you've forgotten." You call back.

"Don't worry about that, do you want boba or not?"

"I'm _not_ paying for an expensive ass delivery fee."

"Who said anything about a delivery fee? Answer the question! You have to pay for the boba though."

"Ugh, fine. I don't know what your plan is, but if you _are_ getting boba, get me a brown sugar milk tea; with boba, of course." 

You ponder at what kind of shenanigans your sister is up to this time, but don't think much of it as you decide to watch a video on Youtube. Halfway through your video, the doorbell rings.

"Get the door!" Edea shouts from upstairs. 

"It's _your_ boba _,_ though!" You shout back, not wanting to get up.

"You're closer and you asked for one too!" Edea shouts back and you heatedly pause your video to get the door to prevent further yelling. 

Your eyes widen in surprise as soon as you see who's behind the door.

"Mark?!" You exclaim in disbelief. 

"Hey, Y/N." Mark greets with you with a smile, carrying three boba milk teas with a cupholder in his hands. 

"I can't believe this. Edea made you come all this way??" You ask, still incredulous that your sister would go this far. 

"Kind of? Eh... it's a long story. Can I come in?" Mark answers.

"Of course." You step aside and let Mark into the house. Come to think of it, your sister has been close to Mark for a while, but he has never come to the house before.

"Ayy, I didn't even know they fought last weekend!" Mark comments excitedly, turning his attention to the TV.

"Mhmm, you didn't miss much. It's pretty much been a snooze fest from the get go," you reply.

"Can I just put it here?" Mark asks, setting down the drinks on the counter as he takes off his shoes.

"Yeah, that's fine." You respond and look in the direction of the stairs where your sister _should_ be coming down, but isn't.

"Edea!" You holler. 

...

[2:01 PM] **M🤢RK:** This sucks. I'm so bored rn

[2:03 PM] **you:** lol I can't believe ur family rly left u like that

[2:03 PM] **M🤢RK:** I s2g I didn't tell them I was gonna be gone the WHOLE week; they just went and assumed 

[2:04 PM] **you:** well, i'm not exactly having the usual thanksgiving either. my extended family isn't coming this year cause of family beef or whatever so it's just gonna be a normal, boring dinner with the 4 of us; doesn't feel like thanksgiving at all

[2:04 PM] **M🤢RK:** i'm just gonna eat a SANDWICH tonight for the third time in a row since we got back yesterday

[2:04 PM] **you:** 😂😂😂

[2:05 PM] **M🤢RK:** pls...

[2:05 PM]: **you:** just come join us for thanksgiving or something

[2:07 PM]: **M🤢RK:** u srs? 

[2:07 PM]: **you:** bet

[2:07 PM]: **M🤢RK:** aren't ur parents like mad strict

[2:08 PM]: **you:** i'll just tell them ur in my calc group and ur coming over to study; then by the time it's dinner they'll most likely ask you to stay anyways

[2:08 PM] **M🤢RK:** ok but like...r u actually expecting me to study

[2:09 PM] **you:** well we have to put up an act at least for my parents; besides, u and i both know we could use a little extra studying

[2:11 PM] **M🤢RK:** fine. i'll come since ANYTHING beats me having to cook by myself for another meal

[2:12 PM] **you:** cool bring me boba on your way over

[2:12 PM] **M🤢RK:** the usual? 

[2:13 PM] **you:** wait, ur actually down? 😂😂

[2:13 PM] **M🤢RK:** eh it's on the way so might as well; i'm kind of craving boba too

[2:14 PM] **you:** let me ask Y/N if he wants something too

[2:16 PM] **you:** he said he wants a brown sugar milk tea w/boba 

[2:17 PM] **M🤢RK:** alright, omw

After sending Mark the address, Edea changes out of her pajamas and into casual clothes she'd wear on a nice day out. She starts to mull over how she's going to make her explanation of Mark's impromptu visit convincing, but thinks better of it as she realizes her lies were better executed when done on the fly. 

Hearing her brother's call from the living room, she descends the stairs to find Y/N and Mark watching the TV intently.

"Ooooh he hit him good!" reacts Mark.

"Glad to see that you've made yourself at home," Edea comments, causing Mark to perk up at her arrival.

"Hey, Edea!" Mark greets. "Your drink is on the kitchen counter, as promised."

Edea heads into the kitchen to find her drink being the only one untouched on the kitchen counter. She wastes no time stabbing the plastic boba straw through the top and bringing it up to her lips. 

"Wow, this is _really_ sweet." Edea grimaces, taking a sip of her milk tea.

"Is it?" Mark tilts his head. "I could've sworn I asked for 75% sugar." 

"You do realize people only swear when it's actually true?" Edea starts, but stops herself from pressing any further.

"Anyways, listen. It'd be great if you studied some calc with me to justify you being here." Edea says, cracking open her calculus textbook to a random page on the kitchen table.

"Hold up, you actually made me come over to study calc? I didn't even bring my book!" Mark protests.

"Oh my god, fuck that HAHAHA," bellows Y/N, who walks away in defeat after one look at the foreign scribbles and diagrams. 

"See?" Mark says, gesturing to Y/N's reaction. "I'm not down for this, dude. When's our next quiz, anyway? Next Friday? We have plenty of time, Edea."

"Okay, but what grade did you wind up with the last time you had this mentality?" challenges Edea.

"We don't talk about that."

All of a sudden, the house phone rings and Edea curses.

"Y/N, could you get that?" Edea says, her tone indicating that she's not asking.

Y/N complies and picks up the phone. After a quick exchange, Y/N hangs up the phone and says,

"So uh...our parents are gonna be back in like ten minutes and they want us to help with the groceries." Y/N says to Edea. 

"Shit, okay." Edea affirms and grabs Mark's wrist, taking him by surprise. 

"Come up with me, real quick." Edea states and pulls him along with her upstairs and into her room. 

Edea closes the door behind Mark and takes a deep breath before letting go of Mark.

"Dude, what's wrong?" Mark asks, a puzzled expression on his face.

"Okay, so...I might be getting in big trouble for inviting you over without asking my parents so I need us to be on the same page." Edea explains.

"Wait...if you're so worried, why tell me to come over in the first place and risk getting in trouble?" 

"Because no one deserves to be alone on Thanksgiving, Mark." 

Mark is at a loss for words upon hearing that, and the two of them stare at each other in silence for a minute before Edea speaks up. 

"I hope this doesn't make you wish you never came in the first place, but I just need you to put up with me for a bit. So...as much as I hate to say it, the calc thing is a must. Also...my mom knows _of_ you, but..." 

"But?"

"She _kind_ of thinks you're a bad influence on me." 

"Wait, what?!" 

"I personally try not to share too much with my parents, but Y/N brings you up _a lot_." 

"What does he say about me to make your mom think I'm a bad influence??" 

"He doesn't say bad things about you, but my parents are a little more on the conservative side. They like nice, quiet, _boring_ kids. My brother has clearly made clear that you are _not_ one of those. She thinks all you do is play and make jokes all the time." 

Mark's jaw drops in disbelief. He takes a deep breath before saying, "I can't believe this." 

"I'm sorry, I really am. I'm not asking you to be fake in front of my parents-"

"Oh, I'm not gonna fake it. But I _will_ try to clear my name and make them like me." 

"Uh.. you don't have to do _that_ , but-" 

All of a sudden, Edea hears her brother calling for her and announcing that their parents are back. 

"Just follow my lead, okay? Oh, and if they ask, you just got here so I didn't have enough time to tell them." Edea instructs.

"Aye, aye, Captain." Mark sighs. 

**...**

You stand patiently at the threshold as the garage door opens with a loud, drawn hum to admit the family car. As per household routine, you slip on a pair of flip flops and walk outside to help your mom and dad bring in the groceries. Not long after, Edea makes it downstairs to join you for subsequent trips. Wrapping up with the last of the groceries, Edea finally speaks up:

" **By the way, a friend came over to study. He's in the living room right now.** "

Your parents both turn to look at Edea incredulously until your Dad finally speaks up.

" **You? Study during _break_** _?_ "

" **Why didn't you tell us first**?" Your mom looks at Edea disapprovingly.

"He just came all of a sudden! We're both not doing that well in calculus and he was bored so we decided to study together. He even brought me and Y/N drinks." Edea defends herself.

" **We better see you guys studying, then.** " Your dad states as all of you head into the house together.

Out of the corner of your eye, you see Edea bracing herself as all of you walk into the living room and see Mark sitting on the couch, looking rather stiff. As soon as he notices your family's presence, he stands up and says,

"Hello, Mr. and Mrs. Y/L/N! It's nice to finally meet you." 

"Hi! You must be Michael, the boy who's always asking Edea to have dinner at his house, right?" Your mom responds, to your sister's terror. You stifle a laugh as you see her eyes widen. She looks as if she wants to disappear. 

Mark looks flabbergasted as well. "Wait, what?! Who the fuck is Michael?" His eyes dart to Edea before the realization of what he just said in front of both your parents hits him. 

You are shocked, though what you're feeling doesn't seem to compare Edea's feelings, for she looks as if she wants to die right there and then.

"Ah- sorry! I didn't mean to say that! Y-You must be mistaken though, I'm Mark."

" **Wah, is he always like this?** " Your dad comments before quietly excusing himself and going upstairs.

"Oh, so _you're_ Mark. Sorry for being mistaken. I heard you're here to study with Edea! I'm glad to hear that. Feel free to use the dining table." Your mom answers with a light chuckle. 

Your mom retreats upstairs as well and Edea says nothing. She heads over to the kitchen table without a word and sits where she had placed her calculus textbook earlier. Mark follows silently after her and sits across from her. After what seemed like _hours_ of unbearable silence, Mark speaks up.

"I messed up, I know. I'm _so_ sorry-" 

"Just...don't say anything." Edea cuts him off.

Not knowing what to do in this awkward situation, you decide to turn on your PS4 in order to distance yourself from the situation. Plugging in your headphones, you immerse yourself in the sounds of gunfire and explosions, for those are more soothing and peaceful than the deafening silence in your kitchen at the moment.

...

"Edea, I can't study with you if you won't even let me see the textbook.." Mark whines as he fidgets in his seat across from Edea, who has been ignoring him for the past twenty minutes. 

Edea doesn't react to him and Mark pouts, pondering what to do. All of a sudden he gets up from his seat and leans over the table to see exactly what Edea's working on.

"Dude, you've been stuck on that problem for like _fifteen_ minutes already." Mark points out and tries to flip the textbook to face him, only to be met with opposition from Edea.

"I can figure it out myself." Edea says and pushes his hand away with her elbow. 

"Can I just see it? It's not like you're having fun staring at the problem." Mark responds. 

All of a sudden, Edea notices her parents coming downstairs and she gets up from the table.

"You know what, go ahead. I've studied enough." Edea leaves the kitchen and heads into the living room.

"Edea, are you done studying already?" Edea's mom stops her.

"Yeah, I went over some formulas and did some problems. I did a lot more studying that I would usually do on a holiday." Edea answers and starts heading upstairs. 

Mark looks at the abandoned calculus textbook and stationary on the dining table and decides in that moment to clean it up and take it with him as he follows Edea upstairs. 

As he starts up the stairs, he catches Y/N giving him a weird look out of the corner of his eye.

"What?" He stops and questions Y/N.

Y/N takes off his headset and says loudly with emphasis, "Oh, you're gonna go upstairs _to study_ instead?" 

Mark stares at Y/N confusedly before realizing his intention. His face lights up as he answers semi awkwardly,

"Oh, yeah! It never hurts to study some more, y'know? Gotta get these formulas drilled into our brains before the next test!" 

Y/N nods and gives him a thumbs up. "Edea's really lucky to have a study partner like you! So motivating!" 

Mark struggles to retain his laughter, but he mouths a word of thanks to Y/N before going upstairs and to Edea's room where he had just been not too long ago. Before reaching the door, Mark breaks out in cold sweat, worrying that if Edea locks him out he'd have to stand outside awkwardly in front of her room and right in plain sight of Edea's father, whose room is just down the hall. He holds his breath as he tries turning the doorknob, which actually turns to his relief. He enters quietly and closes the door behind him. As soon as he turns around, he sees Edea watching him with narrowed eyes from her swivel chair.

"You know, it always surprises me how every time I think you can't be any stupider, you manage to prove me wrong." 

Mark holds up his hands defensively and says, "I'm the biggest idiot, I know. I'm sorry, that was actually the dumbest thing I've done in my life. Sorry, I'm not good with parents, I guess."

Edea sighs and says, "I considered locking you out...but you brought me boba."

"Haha, best decision I ever made?" Mark laughs nervously, rubbing the back of his head. 

"Well, I could never do that to you...no matter how fucking stupid you are. How about...you just try not to say anything unless my parents ask you something?"

"Sounds good. So...am I in the clear now?" 

"Mmm...if you play me a song, sure." Edea cracks a small smile whilst gesturing to a guitar propped up against the wall next to her.

"Oh, dude! I didn't know you had one!" Mark exclaims, his eyes lighting up as Edea hands him her guitar. 

Mark leaves Edea's calculus textbook on the floor and unzips the guitar case excitedly, pulling out a hot pink, electric guitar that looks as if its never been used at all. 

"I don't have an acoustic guitar, and all I remember how to play now are basic chords so I haven't touched it in a while." Edea explains.

"I don't think I've really played on an electric guitar before...this would be interesting." Mark comments.

"I have an amp too that you can plug in...but it's super loud so I don't know how my parents and neighbors might take it." 

"Nah, it's fine. I'm just playing for you, anyways." Mark says and flashes Edea a smile. 

Edea doesn't respond and just shrugs, looking away. 

"Do you want a pick? Playing on electric is harder on the fingers." Edea asks, changing the subject.

"Sure, why not?" Mark answers and Edea pulls out a guitar pick from a pocket inside her guitar case and hands it to him. Mark's fingers brush against Edea's as he receives the pick from Edea, sending warmth across his fingers. Mark takes a seat on the floor in front of Edea with his legs crossed. After strumming a few chords on the guitar to make sure it's properly tuned, he starts playing the first thing on his mind. That song happens to be "Intentions" by Justin Bieber, and as Mark is playing, the song not only flows naturally through his fingers across the guitar, but also from his mouth, to which he knows all the lyrics by heart. Mark is so caught up in his own element he doesn't catch Edea observing him amusedly, with something close to awe reflected in her eyes. As soon as Mark finishes, he looks up for feedback from Edea, who clears her throat and wipes her previous expression from her face.

"Well?" Mark asks.

"I didn't expect you to sing." Edea comments.

"Ah...actually, I wasn't planning on it either, but I've been playing and singing to this song so often these days it kind of just came naturally to me. Sorry if it wasn't what you wanted to hear, ahaha...." Mark explains sheepishly. 

"Well...you passed! Bonus points for singing, I guess."

"Whoa...you liked it?" Mark perks up, his eyes shining with excitement. 

"Well I didn't say _that_ , but...you have a nice singing voice." Edea says, trailing off at the end.

"Alright!! Wow, any kind of compliment from you is a _supreme_ compliment. I can't believe this...am I dreaming?"

"Hey, don't get in over your head. I just commended you for your effort, that's all." 

"Well, since I got the approval of Princess Edea herself, I deserve to be heard, right?"

"Uh, sure?" 

"So who's Michael?"

Edea chokes all of a sudden and takes a minute to collect herself before asking,

"Why all of a sudden??" 

Mark props his chin on his hand and responds,

"Your mom seemed to like him; whoever he is. Did I hear her right? He invites you to dinner all the time?" 

"I don't know if she _likes_ him but I mean...he's just an underclassman a year below us. We're in NHS together and he likes to cook and he's always been pestering me to let him cook for me to the point where I've complained at home about it and my mom overheard." Edea explains.

"Huh...sounds like you got game, Edea." Mark says, sucking in his cheek.

"Excuse me??" 

"How come you've never complained about him to me?"

"Eh, I guess he doesn't come to mind when we hang out. Why are you so curious, though?" 

Mark is taken aback and isn't quite sure how to respond so he just laughs it off and answers, "You never talk about guys unless it's to drag them so I was wondering why I never heard of him before." 

"Oh...I mean it's kind of weird to talk about guys with another guy. That's sort of a girl-to-girl thing." Edea states, raising an eyebrow.

"Wow, okayyyy." Mark says, rolling his eyes.

"Anyways, we're probably gonna have dinner soon so if you want to ask anything, it's probably best to ask now. I don't really say much when I'm eating with my family so..." 

"Is it really okay for me to be here?" 

"It's fine, they're not gonna kick you out. Don't worry about it." 

"I'm not worried about getting kicked out, I don't want to be the reason why you get in trouble with your parents." 

"Oh." Mark notices Edea fidgeting in hear seat for a second before she gets up from her chair and sits cross-legged on the floor in front of him. She locks eyes with him before shrugging and saying,

"It's fine. Really, don't worry about it." Mark notes that she seems to be trying to convince herself more than she's trying to convince him. 

Mark flashes her a smile and says, "Okay, well, if I say anything dumb you can kick me under the table." 

Edea laughs at his comment and says, "Oh, don't worry. I will."

All of a sudden, someone knocks on the door.

"Edea? Why did you lock the door?" Edea's mom's voice can be heard behind the door.

Panicked, Edea wildly gestures at Mark to flip open the calculus textbook and tosses him a pen at the speed of light. Mark catches the pen and hurriedly opens the calculus textbook on the floor to a random page while Edea answers,

"Sorry! I didn't realize I locked it." She reaches the door and opens it to reveal her mom standing behind the door, looking unimpressed. 

"Don't lock the door, okay? **Leave it ajar, at most**." She says sternly, looking from Edea to Mark who is seemingly fixated on a problem from the calculus textbook. 

"Okay, got it." Edea answers, and tries to end the conversation there.

"We will be eating dinner soon. Come down in about fifteen minutes when you are finished studying." Edea's mom instructs. Just then, she pushes the door open wider.

"Why are you guys studying on the _floor_? Is your desk so messy you don't have space?" She gasps at the sight and chastises Edea.

Edea frowns and responds, "No, I only have one chair and I wasn't gonna leave him studying while standing. **This way we're both on the same level and can help each other easier**." 

"Okay, okay. Just don't be late for dinner." Edea's mom dismisses Edea and once again, Mark and Edea are left alone.

Edea returns to where she left Mark and sits on the floor across from him again. After a few seconds of silence, Mark whispers,

"Do you think she bought it?" 

Edea cracks a smile and answers, "Maybe."

Mark and Edea actually spend some time studying a few calculus book problems before they hear Edea's mom call out to them, letting them know that dinner is ready. They both head downstairs to the dining table to see a large, golden-brown turkey taking over center stage surrounded by many familiar side dishes such as mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing, garlic and pepper sauteed green beans, and mac and cheese. Mark, entranced by the spectacle, felt his mouth start to water before a voice from behind catches his attention.

"Mark, do you want Coke or apple cider?" asks Y/N, who is in the process of pouring drinks on the kitchen counter.

"Coke's good, thanks." Mark replies.

Taking note of Edea's parents at the table, Mark bows and says, "I'm sorry for my outburst earlier. Thank you for accepting me into your home and allowing me to join you for dinner." 

Edea elbows him in the side lightly and hisses, "Idiot, you don't have to bow!" 

Mark, quickly realizing the culture difference, straightens up and chuckles hoping to dissipate any awkwardness. 

Edea's mom smiles and says, "Don't worry about it! Let's just eat."

Edea takes a seat at the table and Mark takes the seat next to her while the rest of the family gets themselves seated around the dining table. Mark closes his eyes in silent prayer with his hands clasped in front of him, getting the attention of Edea's mom. 

"Oh my, Mark! Do you believe in Lord Jesus?" She asks, surprised.

Mark's eyes snap open and he answers with a small smile, "Yeah, my family and I are Christian." 

"Oh, that's wonderful! Lately I've been starting to believe and pray too. I just wish they would too." Edea's mom responds, side-eyeing Edea and Y/N who ignore her completely.

"Ahaha, that's good to hear!" Mark answers and resumes his prayers as Edea's mom starts on hers. 

After finishing his prayers, Mark starts digging into the food. 

"Take as much as you want." Edea's dad states before going silent again.

"So, Mark, you are also in orchestra with Y/N and Edea?" Edea's mom asks while cutting a piece of turkey. 

"Yeah, I'm in the same section as Y/N actually!" Mark points out.

"Oh, are you having fun? Y/N and Edea complain about orchestra all the time." 

"I mean, sometimes it's a little annoying but overall it's pretty fun!" 

"Ah, I see. Y/N and Edea should have a positive attitude like you." Edea's mom comments and Mark notes Edea and Y/N exchanging glances out of the corner of his eye.

Mark laughs nervously in response and starts eating silently. As Edea reaches for a large turkey drumstick, her mom stops her and says,

"Hey, why are you always going for the big piece? **You have enough fat.** Look at your brother, and Mark too! You have enough fat to split between the both of them."

Edea frowns, but says nothing and lets go of the piece she was going for, taking a smaller piece from the side. Mark watches her from the side, unsure of what to do. He checks Y/N and Edea's dad's reaction but see that they are unfazed at all, as if this is something that happens often in the household. 

After a few minutes of eating in silence, Edea's dad speaks up.

"So how is studying going? Do you think you can at least get a B on your next test?" 

Mark watches as Edea stops cutting her food as soon as she heard the question. 

"I don't know yet, **the questions on the test are always harder and way different than the homework and practice problems.** " She answers without looking up. 

"I see. Well, just _reading_ a calculus textbook is not going to help you on the test as I've said many times before." Edea's dad states.

"I've told you before, I don't just _read_ it. I study really hard but it just doesn't work out." Edea says through gritted teeth.

" **If you're trying as hard as you say, you should be getting A's.** " 

"Hey, why do you guys keep bringing her down?" Mark speaks up, unable to endure it anymore.

Edea immediately shoots him a death glare, but Mark doesn't stop.

"She's trying her best, I've seen it. She has a lot on her plate, yet she tries harder than anyone I know. And also, I don't see how she's fat? Like I know I'm a twig, but that doesn't mean she's-"

"Mark! 제발 (please)...." Edea exclaims, cutting him off and leaving the table dead silent. 

"Sorry..." Mark mutters and looks down, unable to bring himself to look up for the rest of the dinner. He mentally curses himself for speaking out like that, but he doesn't feel bad for doing it. He could practically feel Edea's murderous aura next to him, and he isn't exactly sure how he can get out of this one. After finishing the rest of the dinner in silence, Edea leaves the table first and goes up to her room, leaving Mark with Y/N and the rest of her family. 

"Hey, Mark, do you want to stay over? You know, since you don't have anyone at home and you walked all the way here." Y/N suggests.

"Uh...." Mark starts, fearing that he has already overstayed his welcome.

"Mom, it's okay if he sleeps over in my room, right?" Y/N asks his mom, who nods slowly.

"Yes, that's fine! I didn't know your family was gone. What happened?" She asks.

"Oh, uh...they left on a trip without me because they thought the orchestra retreat was going to last the whole Thanksgiving break. I've been alone at home since we came back from the orchestra trip." Mark explains quietly. 

"Feel free to stay over and I can drive you back home tomorrow." Edea's mom says.

"Ah...are you sure, though?"

"Yes, of course." 

"Thank you so much!" 

Dinner ends not long after, and Edea's parents retreat back to their room, leaving Mark and Y/N alone. They hang out in the living room, and as soon as Edea's parents were out of earshot, Y/N comments,

"Dude, I can't believe you did that." 

Mark smacks himself in the face and says, "I know." 

"Are you going to talk to Edea?" Y/N inquires. 

"Yeah, I better go now. She's probably had enough time to cool off, right?" 

"Mmm... I don't know about that, she holds grudges and can be mad for _weeks_." 

"Ugh..." Mark groans and sinks into the sofa. 

"But...if you're gonna go talk to her, you better go before bedtime if you don't want my parents thinking you're suspicious." Y/N offers.

Mark quickly gets up from the couch and answers, "You're right. It's now or never." 

He walks over to the base of the stairs and looks up. In the moment, the stairs in front of him seem to stretch out endlessly, as he dreads taking even the first step.

...

Edea paces back and forth in her room, frustrated and unsure of what to do. This is literally the first time she brings a male friend home and her parents already have a terrible of impression of him, which means their impression of her has gotten even worse than it already was to begin with. Yet despite what happened over dinner, she finds herself not mad _at_ Mark, but the situation as a whole. No matter how used to it she is, she doesn't understand why her parents always have something bad to say to her, even in front of _guests_. It was always about how her friends are better than her, or her brother is doing so much better than she was when she was that age. All of a sudden, Edea hears a knock on her door, snapping her out of her thoughts.

"I'm busy right now!" Edea responds, assuming her parents want something from her again.

"...It's me." Edea hears Mark's soft voice behind the door. 

She holds her breath. She had been hoping he wouldn't try to talk to her after dinner, but deep down she knew he would probably try to come to sort things out. Edea sighs and opens the door for Mark, who was standing behind her door looking like a dejected puppy. As soon as she opens the door, he slips in quietly. Edea shuts the door behind him without a sound and turns around to find him watching her carefully, as if he was tiptoeing on broken glass. He locks eyes with her and she sees a multitude emotions flash across his eyes: uncertainty, pity, and tenacity. Edea leans back against her bedroom door and crosses her arms across her chest.

"If you have something to say, say it." She states. 

"Okay, first of all, I'm sorry for ruining the dinner after you invited me and tried so hard, but I'd be lying to you if I said I regret speaking out like that. I meant every word I said, and I'm not taking it back." Mark says with a tone of finality, his chin raised. 

Edea sighs and sinks to the floor, hugging her knees to her chest.

"You've definitely made things awkward and harder for me, but...thank you." She concedes.

"D-Did I hear you right? You're not about to punch me right now??" Mark says, his eyes wide. 

"Don't make me explain myself. 알잖아 (you should know)." 

Mark slides next to Edea and mimics her posture. He leans his head against the door and says,

"You have every right to be mad, though. Does this...happen often, though?"

"Yeah, just about every other day," Edea scoffs before smiling, "It's fine, I'm used to it. I'm frustrated, but not at you. After all, you did what I couldn't do."

"I promise I'll make them like me next time, I swear." Mark declares.

"I tried to invite you so you wouldn't feel lonely during Thanksgiving, but I guess you probably would have preferred staying home, huh?"

"No, not at all. Despite the mess I made, I had fun hanging out with you today. Thanks again for inviting me over." Mark grins at Edea, causing her to turn away and blush.

"How are you getting home? I can call an Uber for you." Edea changes the subject. 

"Oh, actually, Y/N asked your mom if I could stay over tonight and she said I could...I was okay with walking home, but I guess she's okay with me staying over? She even said she'll drive me home tomorrow." Mark explains.

"Huh...still keeping up the formalities, I guess. Wait...she agreed to you sleeping in my room?" Edea says, her eyes wide. 

"No, no, no, Y/N said his room!" Mark sputters. 

Edea laughs, "Yeah, that makes more sense. She didn't even want me closing the door earlier this afternoon with you in here." 

Mark's face flushes out of embarrassment and he says, "Well...Y/N said I shouldn't stay in here with you too long or else your parents might have more suspicions about me. I don't want them to hate me more than they already do so-" 

"Yeah, I get it. Good night, Mark." Edea cuts him off with a soft smile.

Mark returns the smile and responds gently, "Good night, Edea." 


	12. Whimsical Wednesday

With an effortful heave, you load your books into your locker, closing the door with a resounding slam that joined the chorus of other students closing theirs. The vibes on Wednesdays were especially laid back with everyone else leaving campus two hours before the orchestra students did: while Mr. Li went to the mandatory weekly staff meetings, the orchestra had one hour to do as they pleased. Many sat around in the hallways to catch up on some schoolwork, while some congregated with friends to venture off campus for a meal or a drink. Seeing as you tended towards the latter type, you browse around for someone to accompany you.

"Y/N!" a voice calls out. It's Lia, who is joined by Johnny, Mark, Stephen, and your older sister at the far end of the hallway. "Do you wanna come with?!"

"Yeah, I'm down!" you call back. You stop briefly to ask Ryujin to watch your backpack while you were gone, who nods fiercely, signaling her aversion to any further distractions from her biology assignment.

"Why don't you hang out with your own friends?" snaps Edea as you approach the group.

"Who do you expect me to be around when we're both in orchestra? The basketball team?" you retort.

"You seem pretty friendly with the tennis girls."

"Hey, that doesn't count-"

"The _tennis_ girls AHAHAHA" laughs Johnny. "She does have a point."

" _A_ tennis girl. Please, most of my friends outside of the music program go home straight away anyway."

"Come on, 같은친구 해줘! (Let's be friends together!) Having one more tag along wouldn't kill anyone. It's chill, Y/N. We were going to the sushi place down the street." says Mark.

"진짜... (Seriously) I mean, I guess." says Edea, appearing quite disappointed with Mark's response.

As you all open the doors leading out of the C building, you are met with a blast of hot air in transition from the air-conditioned hallway. While the front gates weren't as crowded as they were right when the school day ended, you struggle nonetheless to weave past the maze of students waiting for their rides or the school bus. The weather was surprisingly hot in spite of it still being winter season, so much that you immediately regretted not bringing your water bottle along for the trip.

"Did we just come back from Thanksgiving break or summer vacation?" comments Lia, who brings up a hand to shield her eyes from the sun.

Johnny swings his lanyard in an arc before pointing his car key towards his parking spot, unlocking his cream colored Range Rover.

"Wow, I love what you've done to the place!" says Stephen, as you all file into the clean and spacious back seats while Mark takes shotgun.

"Thanks! I had some free time on my hands," Johnny chuckles, taking a moment to organize the contents of his trunk after putting away his backpack.

"Can I turn on the AC, Johnny? I'm burning alive over here," asks Mark.

"No," Johnny says with a straight face before breaking into a grin, "I'm just kidding, yeah." 

"Whew, I'm starving," says Johnny as he returns to the driver's seat. "1:40 PM? Yeah, we got plenty of time," he adds, more to reassure himself than anything.

After a quick car ride, you all make a brisk walk into the restaurant to avoid further exposure to the hot sun. You are greeted by a staff member, who promptly seats you at a table and takes your drink order. The place had a refined aesthetic: the soft indigo LED lights made the interior pleasantly dim, but not enough to affect visibility. Cultural artwork as well as decals of Japanese characters were scattered along the walls, while a bustling sushi bar sat at the central part of the restaurant. Multiple flat screen TVs broadcasted a variety of sports and reality TV shows for the diners' enjoyment. It was no surprise that many students frequented here whenever they wanted somewhere to hang out with chill vibes and good food.

"Ooh, cheese-baked mussels? This sounds pretty good," Edea says, redirecting everyone to the "Appetizers" section of the menu.

"I'm down for that," affirms Johnny.

"Yo, these onion rings look bomb too," Mark chimes in.

"Okay, so we're gonna come here to eat literally everything except sushi?" Stephen laughs.

Per Stephen's suggestion, you select a generous assortment of sushi rolls and sashimi dishes to go along with your apps as a waiter returns with your drinks and takes your food order before leaving again.

"Wow..." Mark marvels at the tall glass containing his watermelon slush. "It's so high, it's like my grades!"

"Shouldn't it be on the floor, then?" quips Edea.

"Hold up, they've definitely been on the better side lately!" Mark defends.

"What are we even doing in orchestra today?" you ask.

"I think we're gonna find out what this year's spring musical is gonna be." Johnny responds dryly. "I'm absolutely _thrilled_ ," he adds, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

Seeing how much you hung out with your older peers, you've heard all the stories about the musical season: a two month period in which the orchestra collaborates with the drama department to put together the annual school play. Shying away from the traditional auditorium stages you all were used to, the orchestra would take things into the pit, both figuratively and literally. While the musicals were very fulfilling experiences, they were also associated with the long, grueling rehearsal hours that led many to compromise their grades, health, and sanity to stay on top of practicing and a full-time high school workload.

"Oh yeah, how was retreat?" Lia asks excitedly, moving aside dishes to make room for the food that just arrived.

"It was really fun! Glad I went instead of doing my college applications like any sensible person would." Stephen chuckles.

"It was... interesting, to say the least," you respond. "One of the hotel elevators... let's just say, went out of service the first night." At the mention of this particular incident, you notice Mark and Edea exchange furtive glances in your peripheral vision.

"We pulled Yeji out of a frozen lake after our snowball fight went south -- she's okay now, and Mr. Li would have definitely kicked us all out of the music program if he found out what some of us were up to on the last night," you continue.

Mark laughs out loud, extending his palm outward to give you a high-five for such a concise yet intentionally vague summary.

"Wow, I... don't even want to ask about the last part. Geez, at least yall made it back in one piece! I'd bet the orchestra crowd is a lot closer after all that." Lia says.

"Actually, it does feel like everyone got closer!" Johnny chimes in.

"Yeah, especially because of all you freshmen," Stephen addresses you. "I know for a fact this trip would've been dry as fuck if you guys weren't there to help spice things up."

"Dang, that really means a lot coming from the concertmaster. I didn't really think we were all that special," you laugh shyly.

As conversation continues to flow naturally throughout the meal, you all finish your food and reconvene in the parking lot.

"Holy fuck, we are so late," Johnny utters as everyone is entering the vehicle.

"Wait, are you serious?" Mark asks, starting to crack up.

Somewhere along the way, you all had lost track of time and were taken aback to see the time staring back at you from the car's digital display: 2:42 PM, meaning you had 3 minutes to make it from the restaurant all the way back to your assigned seats in the music room.

"It's okay!" Edea reassures. "Since we have the concertmaster with us, they can't start without us!"

"That's gonna make Mr. Li even more mad at us!" Mark wheezes, short of breath from laughing so much. "I think I'm gonna text Cass to give him a heads up."

After witnessing Johnny violate virtually every traffic law in the state, you make it back to campus, only stopping to huddle by the music room entrance. Edea presses an ear against the door to listen in on what's going on inside.

"Shit, they've already started," she chuckles, the words "We're fucked" written all over her expression.

"Okay, I'm gonna head back to rehearsal! Thanks for lunch; I'll see you guys later!" Lia excuses herself.

"Bye, Lia!" you all whisper in reply.

"Here goes nothing," braces Johnny, who firmly grips the door handle, turns, and pulls.

...

"... the musical agreement sheet in front of you. Expectation number one-" Mr. Li says, stopping himself to address the group of kids who are just filing into the room.

"On the topic of showing up to all rehearsals and shows on time, how nice of you all to finally join us after your relaxing lunch break! I hope you brought something back for the rest of the class unless you think your time is more important than _our_ time. And really? Two seniors, one of which is the concertmaster, as well as a section leader? You should know better. If you don't get to your seats right now, I'm marking you all absent." Mr. Li finishes, with a tone of finality.

Trying to avoid any eye contact with the director, you scurry back to your seat. As if the mood wasn't thoroughly murdered already, the wordy musical agreement sheet perched on your chair was just more salt on the wound. 

"Now, what was I saying - before I was so rudely interrupted? Right, expectations," Mr. Li continues.

At this point, you don't even bother to listen out of defiance. You find your thoughts wander and eventually decide to take out your phone to relieve some stress.

[2:57 PM] **you** : i hope tennis practice is going a lot better than orchestra is right now 😅🙃

[2:57 PM] **chae** : aw :( what happened?

[2:58 PM] **you** : we went out for lunch during the staff meeting and then got straight roasted in front of the whole class by Mr. Li when we came in late haha... it was extra awkward bc the concertmaster tagged along and with Edea being section leader and all...

[2:58 PM] **chae** : yikess 😬 maybe next time keep an eye on the clock more closely?

[2:58 PM] **you** : yeah, for sure. we're talking about the musical today, it's gonna be such a drag...

"Y/N, what did I just say?"

_What. The. Fuck._

Right when you thought you were going to catch a break, Mr. Li calls you out.

Without a single clue of what to respond with, you lightly nudge your sister's foot to signal for help.

_"Every Wednesday, there will be a proficiency test on the numbers that were rehearsed the previous week,"_ Edea whispers.

"Every Wednesday, there will be a proficiency test on the numbers that were rehearsed the previous week," you echo.

"Very good, Y/N!" Mr. Li says. "But next time, I'd appreciate it if you put your phone away while I'm talking."

"Got it. Sorry." you respond through gritted teeth.

After what seemed like years, orchestra mercifully ends with the sound of the final bell. As you retrieve your textbooks from your locker and think about how much homework you had to do tonight, you feel a sense of longing for the power to go back in time and relive the past week. Even after retreat and Thanksgiving, the festivities never seemed to end. While that Friday was spent firing up Netflix and taking a breather from four consecutive days of nonstop action, you and Edea were fully committed to working the majority of Saturday and Sunday. Still, with Chaeryeong and Julia over at your house as your respective study buddies, even studying was hardly a mundane affair. 

***

_"So if ADP is here and ATP is over here, then why does ATP appear again on this part?" asks Chaeryeong._

_"Let me see..." you respond. "Wait, there's something written here as a footnote. What the... did the printer mess up the diagram? I can't see anything!" you laugh incredulously._

_"Alright, I think we've spent way too much time deciphering the Calvin Cycle," Chaeryeong laughs along with you. "How about a break?"_

_"You know I'll never say no to a break." you respond, joining Chaeryeong on the couch. "What are we feeling? Youtube? Netflix?"_

_"Oh!" Chaeryeong perks up. "There's always this game I've been wanting to play on Youtube."_

_"Really? I'm down for that," you say, passing the keyboard to Chaeryeong._

_A quick search returns a plethora of videos centered around K-pop song trivia, encompassing a seemingly endless selection of niche categories such as "Guess the K-pop song by the choreography," "Guess the K-pop song after 1 second," and "Guess the K-pop song by its representative emojis"._

_"Oh, I've definitely heard of these."_

_"Oooh, awesome!" Chaeryeong replies excitedly. "So really the only rule for these games is that you have to use your name as a buzzer before you can answer with the artist name and song name."_

_"Sounds good. I hope you're ready to get absolutely smoked."_

_Chaeryeong narrows her eyes in doubt. "We'll see about that," she says, settling on the one second category._

_The video begins with the first prompt: a note played on a guitar._

_"CHAERYEONG! Growl by EXO."_

_"Wow, you're good," you acknowledge once the video confirms the answer._

_Just like that, you were already a step behind. Taken aback by your friend's prowess, you take a deep breath and collect your wits._

_"Y/N!"_

_The second question was an EDM tune you couldn't miss._

_"Zimzalabim by Red Velvet," you answer, tying up the score 1 to 1._

_"Ahhhh I knew that one!" Chaeryeong whines. "I'm not losing to you today," she says, touching her temples with her index fingers to focus._

_After a continuous neck and neck battle, the two of you found yourselves at a standstill, and the next question would determine the winner of the game; the suspense in the air was palpable. The two of you wait anxiously in anticipation of the next prompt, which turns out to be a pleasant D major chord progression sung by a male voice._

_"CHAERYEONG!!!!"_

_"Y/N!!!"_

_Chaeryeong beats you to the punch by a hair._

_"Okay, what is it?"_

_"BTS- Boy In Luv," she responds confidently._

_You break into hysteric laughter in celebration. "BTS- Boy_ With _Luv," you counter._

_"어머나, 설마..._ " _(Oh my god, no way) says Chaeryeong, who starts to doubt her answer_.

_When the correct response is revealed, the living room devolves into a cacophony of screams, with Chaeryeong's out of humiliation, and yours out of joy. You scoot over to goad your friend, who had her face buried into a cushion, when all of a sudden-_

_"Ya! Why are you guys screaming? We can't get anything done like this," Lia grumbles, descending the staircase into the living room with Edea following closely behind._

_"Ah, did we disturb you guys? I'm sorry," apologizes Chaeryeong, emerging from the couch cushion._

_"Yeah, my bad. We were playing K-pop trivia games and got a little too excited," you respond._

_"Oh my god, you were?" Edea chimes in. "I want to play, too!"_

_"Hmm... I still have some work to do though," Lia ponders._

_"You've worked hard for the last few hours. You should chill out for a bit!" coaxes Edea._

_"I suppose a few games wouldn't hurt. Plus, I still have Sunday to finish up if anything."_

_***_

And with that, a productive afternoon ended with an animated evening of trivia, board games, and card games. You think about how you could experience the camaraderie, freedom, and high spirits of Thanksgiving break all over again for the small cost of enduring just one more month of school as well as finals season. And how couldn't you? You had gotten well used to the work-life balance nearing your fifth month, and Mr. Li's nagging and orchestra drama wasn't anything new either.

The recognizable honk of the family car snaps you out of your thoughts as you feel a smile spreading across your face. You take a deep breath, basking in the warm sunlight and allowing a temperate gust of wind to sweep your hair back as you join Edea in crossing the parking lot. 

[3:01 PM] **chae** : hang in there~ i'm sure you'll turn out okay! I'm always here to talk 😊

Once you've greeted your mom and seated yourself in the backseat, you open your phone to a notification of Chaeryeong's reply to the text message you had sent during class and respond with a heart emoji, chuckling to yourself as you're doing so.

Maybe things _were_ going to be okay.


	13. Submission

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, with the exception of text messages, text denoted in bold will indicate the character speaking in *your* first/second language; if you are monolingual you can think of it as the tone or different/specific dialect you use to speak with your parents.

_Thump. Thump. Thump._

You feel your eyes start to glaze over from watching the punching bag in front of you swing to and fro as you jab it absentmindedly. Today was the day you would usually do striking and footwork drills, but your mind just wasn't all there at the moment. In an attempt to break out of your sluggish stupor, you spring into a spinning wheel kick, only to find yourself knocked down right on your butt. It turns out you had attacked when the bag was way too close, causing you to get swept off balance by the bag's backwards swing.

"So stupid," you laugh to yourself.

"Hey Y/N! I had a feeling you'd be here!"

In walks Ryujin, followed by Yeji, who extends a hand to help you to your feet. 

"Yeah, I felt like taking my mind off of things," you respond. "How about you guys? What brings you all here?" 

"Honestly, the same reason as you," says Ryujin, "with finals coming up and all."

"Ugh, don't remind me. Math is stressing me out so much," says Yeji. "No matter how much I study, I feel like I'm still terribly behind. Aren't you worried about our math final, Y/N?"

"Not really," you ponder. "I feel like I've got everything down."

"Look at you; you've come so far since that first quiz," Yeji pouts. "I envy you; everything comes so easily to you... you and Ryujin both," she adds, eliciting a laugh from Ryujin. 

"Bah, all that means nothing when you don't get along with teachers," you wave your hand dismissively.

"That's not true." Yeji giggles. Meanwhile, you catch Ryujin stifling a giggle of her own. "You're not still mad at Mr. Li for what happened that Wednesday, right?"

"Nah, I'm not mad. If I was in his place I'd probably call myself out."

"Now that you mention that, why didn't you invite me to sushi?" Ryujin chimes in. "I drove myself insane trying to finish that Bio worksheet."

"You made it very clear that you did not want to be bothered any more when I left my bag with you." 

"Well, I'm glad you got a proper scolding for not inviting me anyway."

You roll your eyes in exasperation. "All right, I'm sick of this school talk. Let's get some work done."

The next hour or so was spent going through your usual workouts, and by the end of it, you all decide to spar each other just for the heck of it. Seeing as none of you have as much time to train as you used to, you thought it would be fun to see how rusty you all have gotten. Or in Ryujin's case, almost not at all.

"Ahhh, 너무해! (This is too much)" Yeji whines, gasping for air after her umpteenth defeat. "Y/N, can you believe this girl was training in the hotel gym while we were at retreat?" 

You pause your warmup and turn back to the two girls on the mat. "Seriously, Ryujin? During retreat? You really are something else." 

"You're not gonna catch up to me that easily," Ryujin chuckles slyly. "Come out, Y/N, I want to see what you've got."

You oblige, taking Yeji's spot in the octagon and close the gate behind you. You stare into your opponent's eyes across the cage, predicting the possible tactics that would be used against you. Ryujin was somebody who carried a lot of power in her punches, and she knew it. Even so, she would spend a lot of the earlier rounds making reads on her opponents and finding her openings, and once she did, her hands would fly so quickly that you'd get knocked out before you knew what was coming. 

Once the clock signaled the start of the fight, you immediately rush the center of the cage and feint a round kick. Ryujin bites, who had already begun raising her right hand to parry the blow. As she proceeds to back away, you start to press forward, cutting off the cage and throwing a right straight at Ryujin's face, dipping off to the side and completing your exit with an outside leg kick as she tries to counter with her own right hand. 

Ryujin stumbles momentarily from the kick and tilts her head in acknowledgement. "Not bad," she says, who marches forward to meet you. 

_Whoosh._

You feel multiple punches as well as a shin whiz past your head as you fade and sidestep away from harm's way. Resetting your stance, you thank Dancer Chaeryeong silently for teaching you a thing or two about footwork. Sensing the frustration in Ryujin's eyes, you brace yourself for a second onslaught when she starts charging forward. She manages to stun you for a second with a left hook when you see her loading up the overhand right. Remembering what happened to you earlier today on the punching bag, you plant your back foot as Ryujin continues to lunge forward.

As you raise your left guard to protect your face, your right check hook lands right on target, stopping your opponent right in her tracks. In an effort to avoid any follow-up shots, Ryujin dives into your hips for a takedown. You scoot your legs backwards into a sprawl on instinct and manage to sink your left forearm under your opponent's chin. Clasping your left hand with your right, you start to apply pressure with your arms and pull Ryujin into your guard before she got a chance to escape. Sensing defeat, Ryujin rapidly taps, prompting you to release the choke.

"괜찮아? (Are you okay)" you ask. Meanwhile, Yeji unlocks the octagon gate and joins your side as you are tending to Ryujin.

Still trying to catch her breath, Ryujin nods in confirmation. 

"That was so fun to watch," remarks Yeji. "Have both of you been training secretly this whole time? My goodness."

"Maybe just a little bit here and there," you admit. "It's really therapeutic... and you know much I get stressed," you add, which gets a laugh out of Yeji... and Ryujin, who extends a hand.

"Good catch, Y/N," Ryujin smiles. 

"You weren't so bad yourself," you say, accepting with a handshake.

"And thank you."

"All of a sudden?" you chuckle. 

"I'm glad I can stay on the grind knowing that someone's catching up to me," Ryujin responds. "It gets boring here at the top."

"Humble as always, I see."

"This isn't over." Ryujin snaps back. "But for now, I guess we'll call it a day," Ryujin says, rubbing her head gingerly with a sheepish, whisker-dimpley grin.

...

The three of you decide to take it easy for the rest of the day and hunker down at a boba shop to do some homework. You debate over inviting Chaeryeong and Yuna, but eventually think better of it as the five of you together would've likely resulted in none of you getting anything done.

"Oh, Y/N! Can I ask you something?" Yeji speaks up after a period of productive silence.

"Yeah, go for it~"

"It's this proof from the last exam... I understand now that I got the explanation but what's the thought process you need to nail every single one of these?" 

"I see. Yeah, this was a tough one. Usually how I would approach these is start with what's given. Like for this one, they want you to prove that these two triangles are congruent. Usually they'll flat out tell you that two lines or two angles are congruent, but when _these_ arrows are here, you can use a lot of parallel line theorems to take care of most of the steps. As for the mindset, I would say to first get really familiar with the theorems, and then take a hard look at the givens and think two, maybe even three steps ahead on what theorems you can use to get to the answer. It helps to know a lot of them since you might realize that there are some approaches that can solve the same problem in three or four steps where some might require eight!"

"Wow, that's super helpful, thank you so much! I never would've thought to attack these the way you explained," says Yeji.

"Of course; if you're confused about anything else, just let me know!" you respond.

"Y/N!" a voice calls out to you from behind.

"Hey! What's up, Justin?"

"Studying." Justin answers wearily. "It looks like everyone in the school district had the same idea to come here... it took me forever just to find a seat." He furrows his brows for a second, as if he felt he had forgotten something. "Oh yeah! Did you guys see what Mr. Li posted on Google Classroom just now?"Justin adds, drawing Ryujin and Yeji's attention.

"Freaking hell, what is it now?" you grumble.

"Oof, yall aren't gonna like this." Ryujin is the first to pull up the announcement and proceeds to read it aloud:

_Happy Sunday, orchestra! I hope you all are hanging in there as finals week draws ever close. Just a reminder, we'll be working on our solfege piece on Thursday, so make sure to practice a it! I'm excited to see how much better we've gotten as an ensemble since the beginning of the year~_

"Is that all?" you ask.

Ryujin nods.

"This isn't good; I stopped practicing pretty much after we stopped getting proficiencies," says Yeji. 

"I can't believe he's actually serious with pushing solfege for as long as he has," you sigh. "I guess it is what it is."

"I'm sure it'll be chill," Justin reassures. "Since we're rehearsing on Thursday, we're probably going to work on it during sectionals the day before; that's probably enough practice to stay under Mr. Li's radar."

"Good point." Ryujin chuckles. "Do you want to sit with us for a bit?"

"I'm fine, thank you. I should go, I've kept Yuna waiting long enough," Justin replies shyly and dashes off.

"Huh?" Ryujin and Yeji utter in unison. Ryujin stands up in an attempt to locate Justin's booth, only for Justin to disappear behind a divider obstructing her view. Cursing, she sits back down.

"I can't believe she thought she could hide this from me." Ryujin smirks, picking up her phone and proceeding to hammer away at the screen with her thumbs. 

...

You stretch out in your chair, wincing at the sudden strain in your neck. You had once again found yourself hunched over at your computer, struggling to complete the day's pile of homework. Except on Sunday nights like this, your habitual procrastination had you hating yourself more than you would on the average weekday. You try to get back into your flow state, but ultimately fail as you feel your eyes unfocus themselves at even the slightest effort of concentration. With a hefty sigh, you step away from your work station and gently rub your eyes.

" **You doing okay there, Y/N?** " your mom asks.

"I'm okay, just a little stressed."

"I left some sliced apples for you in the kitchen for when you're hungry!"

"Thanks, Mom, I'll eat them after I'm done with this."

"Anyway, I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Really? What is it?" you ask, raising your eyebrows.

"Recently, I've noticed you've started going to bed later and later. I understand you have finals coming up and all, but you've also been spending an awful lot of time hanging out with friends and having friends over at the house. I hope you haven't already given up on your goals."

"Relax, Mom. Half of the time I'm with my friends, I'm studying with them. **Plus, don't I deserve to catch a break from time to time?** " you respond.

"Okay, I'm just reminding you to stay on track. You know how important it is to keep your grades up. Don't you want to go to a good university?"

"Yes, of course I do," you sigh. "But it's high school. I'm not here for four years just to work myself to death."

"That's fine with me. But the second I see your friends start to affect your grades, you're not allowed to see them anymore." 

"Mom, how is that supposed to help me-"

"I don't care!" your mom raises her voice. "I like Chaeryeong and Julia, **but after seeing what Mark is like in person-** "

" **What does Mark have anything to do with this?** In any case, he's not as bad as you think he is! I can't believe you're putting so much unnecessary pressure on me; it's like you _want_ me to fail." 

"I'm not changing my mind," your mom replies sternly. " **And I better not hear any more from you or else I'm bringing your dad down here.** "

Once your mom finally leaves, you sit there, speechless. You save your work and close your tabs for the time being, giving your mind some time to process everything that just happened. For starters, you didn't even know what emotions you were feeling. Disbelief? Anger? Anxiety? How were you even supposed to continue going forward? Did you even have it in you to finish the day's assignments at this point? How were you going to break the news to your friends in the case that your grades don't end up to your parents' liking?

You were rendered so helpless, so quickly; your mom had made it clear that the exchange was meant to be a demand, not a conversation. Sooner or later, you hear your sister come downstairs. 

"Mom left apples in the kitchen if you want. I'm not eating that shit anymore."

"Eh, no thanks. Also, I wouldn't get too beat up over this if I were you," Edea replies.

"How much did you hear?" you ask.

"The gist. Anyway, you'll get used to it. Welcome to my world."


End file.
